Cyclamen
by Oceanbreeze7
Summary: JustcallmeZari Contest: 'If I am to perish, I will not die without last requests.' He summed up, nostrils flaring as his head turned towards the west, 'I will not leave without seeing she who still welcomes me.'. Loki has one request before he is to die- by his hand or another. Sigyn. if only escaping was easy. Avoiding Thor and all of Asgard's scouts searching for him? Well...


**This is a COMPETITION!**

_**(Ohhh, that means you're supposed to support me. :D )**_

**Anyways, this was a little contest between my friend JustcallmeZari and I- we had to write a story, roughly the same length with the same prompt. **

_'Loki heard that Sigyn is somewhere (found her location, either Asgard or Midgard) and escapes to find her. Of course, the Avengers chase after him, and are ready to take him down unknowing that he loves Sigyn._

_Instead of finding her and his two sons, he instead sees the sight of both of his children grown up to a distinctly larger age, and Sigyn having moved on, already married to another man._

_The Avengers intrude on Loki's shock/stunned look/ sorrow and have no clue about what is going on.'_

**SOO! Review, or favorite my story. The contest is as simple as it is- whomever gets the most favorites or reviews wins.**

Please help me win! :) And go check out her story also! I'm excited to read her story as well- enjoy!

* * *

Time moved differently in Asgard. Due to the smaller size of the realm compared to others, a day moved faster than a night of Midgard. One day in Asgard was equal to a little more than half of another day of Midgard, and equal to only a quarter of Jotunheim's natural day.

It did not alter the life of Asgardians much, their days spread well into the night. Once the sun set, they did not simply go to sleep, nor did they rise any earlier to meet the morning light.

They had adapted to the point where night illuminated by the shimmering lamps that stood proudly by the stone paths of the streets. Even the cosmos and the glimmering nebulas and stars illuminated the night sky just as well as the sun did during the day.

The only difference, was as time progressed, so did the mentality of time passing, and distance between events. What only occurred a short while ago, seemed a much greater distance in the mind of Asgardians.

What felt to be one season would be two or three. What one year truly was, was the span of many years.

And _that_, is where the issue arose.

x-(X)-x

The Avengers were in Asgard, the reasoning why was not that great in general other then the fact that in Asgard, they had _mead._

(In other words, Tony was excited and cleverly tricked Nick, bringing the others along if only to try and get Steve drunk.)

They had rooms in the palace, as offered by Thor. They were extravagant, fitted with gold and jewels, there were even palace servants that catered to their every whim.

Of course, Tony used every opportunity to ask for obscene things, sending the guards on a desperate scramble, although they seemed for frustrated then worried.

"Do you _really _have to do that?" Bruce sighed, watching as once more a servant darted forward, depositing a specific tart on a golden plate beside Tony before rushing away as if to escape and not be given another request.

"It's _fun." _Tony pointed out, lounging on the steps, picking up the honey tart and nibbling on one edge mindlessly.

"It's kinda' a jerk move." Clint pointed out, he too, was lounging under the bright sunlight on the thick stone railing that trailed down alongside the steps.

"Dude, Thor has servants for a reason." Tony pointed out, taking a larger bite out of the tart and grinning at the taste.

"That may be true, but Thor is a _prince." _Natasha pointed out, glancing over at Steve who was just approaching the two of them with Thor walking alongside.

"Hammertime! You're back!" Tony shouted, rising his tart in greeting.

"You two find what you were looking for?" Bruce asked curiously, looking up at the two with one hand raising to block the sun, squinting.

"Er- yeah." Steve spoke with a slight blush, looking down while Thor laughed, clapping the other blonde mail with his hand.

"Aye! Friend Steven was most fascinated by the shields crafted by our dwarven tradesmen. Although, a plentiful of maidens were more fascinated by him then the steel he tested." Thor teased, mirth in his eyes as Steve blushed even more.

Tony's eyebrows rose as he sat upright, blinking before setting his hand finished pastry down and giving a few slow claps, causing Steve to blush even more.

"Wow, didn't know you had it in ya' cap." Tony spoke, managing to keep a serious face while Clint slyly threw in a loud wolf whistle.

Natasha sighed, visibly rolling her eyes as Bruce looked away, trying to hide his smile.

"Just- just shut up." Steve stammered, causing Tony to actually falter and utter a few snickers.

Thor chuckled, and Natasha stood, glancing at Thor while speaking smoothly, "Do those dwarf traders have weapons as well?"

Thor's expression lifted and his signature grin spread across his face. His light blue eyes seemed to twinkle as he nodded quickly, like a pleased dog.

"Aye! The Dwarves hold weapons known all throughout the Nine Realms." Thor grinned.

"Ohh- _weapons." _Tony spoke, drawing out the name before smirking, "I _totally _need one, because I _don't _have a flying _suit of armor-"_

Tony's voice out with a slight yelp as Bruce nudged him sharply, causing his voice to cut out. Thankfully, Thor took no offence and instead laughed merrily, a grin spreading from ear to ear. "You are welcome to purchase any weapons that appeal to your curiosity." Thor offered, and at once Tony perked upright.

"Oh? Hear that Brucie?" Tony asked, glancing at Bruce with a slightly mad grin, "I've always wanted a sword! Maybe like, a katana. Or one of those Roman battle axes-"

"Stark, you'll maybe get a slingshot." Natasha spoke in a deadpan voice, _"Maybe."_

Clint snickered before jumping down from the railing, patting Tony on his shoulder, "its okay there Fido! You'll get that squirrel next time!"

"I'm not a dog." Tony grumbled, causing Clint to pull his hands away and hold them up defensively, turning and walking towards Thor who waited patiently.

Bruce followed Natasha and Clint, leaving a slightly pouting Tony by the steps. Clint glanced back, and very loudly clicked his tongue, as if calling a cat.

"I'm not your dog!" Tony shouted, causing Clint to laugh as the group turned, already following Thor and his long strides.

The streets were beautiful, inlayed with cobblestone well worn and ancient in comparison to any sort of 'modern art' cobblestone back on Earth.

Each building was made of stone, varying in design and colour but still made of alabaster marble, speckled granite or limestone. Even some buildings were composed of shale, dark grey and green in the sunlight.

Golds of varying shades were inlayed on roofing and on windowsills, the buildings and homes closest to the main road much more impressive, made with stone creatures mounted along the roofs and overlooking the streets with a precise hand.

Natasha and Clint found themselves glancing at the carved creatures in wonder, animals similar to what they could claim ware gargoyles stood tall and proud. Others looked like winged snakes, and one looked similar to a mixture of a moose, lion, and a four horned goat.

"What are they?" Steve asked, pointing with one hand up at the statues, causing Thor to glance up curiously.

"Those are the beasts of which deciphers the weaponry of the residence within the home." Thor explained, yet not fully explaining at all.

"Could you…explain…_more?" _Bruce asked, and Thor seemed to understand their confusion.

"Aye!" Thor nodded, pointing upwards to the similar creature of the gargoyle, if not for the feathered wings instead of characteristic leather. "That is a _Graei's._ They reside in the north, upon the peaks of Himinbjorg. They are known widely for their sight, and impressive aim with talons. Their crest is that of the archers of Asgard." Thor explained.

"So every house with that thing on the top means that the family's an archer clan?" Clint asked, catching on rather quickly.

"Aye!" Thor beamed, obviously happy that they had caught on so fast. They moved quickly, splitting to avoid a small cart where a merchant pushed what looked to be red apples along the street.

They clumped together once more after passing the merchant, and this time it was Steve to who pointed to the winged snake, coiled high with wings extended to the heavens, two fangs exposed in a silent hiss.

"That is a Skrix. They hail from the Vanir waters of Faljeskar. They are odd creatures, dangerous with abilities not known by many. They are the marks of the Seidr wielders, mostly ward casters or healers." Thor explained.

"So this…Seidr, stuff, is all this mumbo jumbo?" Tony asked, glancing once more at the incredibly mythical creature.

"Seidr is what mortals refer to as magic." Thor offered with a slightly unsure smile, "Most Seidr uses are for womanly means, so I must apologize on my lack of knowledge."

Natasha lifted one eyebrow and spoke almost bored, "So Asgard is sexist?"

Thor fumbled, words not being heard as he was unsure as to how to continue. Steve noticed his awkwardness and quickly took mercy, pointing at the tall horned creature, "What about that?"

Thor sent him a grateful look before looking at the large moose-goat-lion.

"That is Mratervi. They are large creatures, taller even then I." Thor grinned, causing the group to glance at the stone carving once more.

"Looks dangerous." Clint added, causing Thor to grin, "Aye!"

"Mratervi hail from the Plains of Ida. They travel in herds, twenty strong. They are swift, fast and strong, each horn able to gut a man within seconds." Thor chuckled, looking at the creature with appreciation.

"Are they the spirit animal for you kamikaze's?" Tony asked, causing Bruce to translate due to Thor's confusion.

"Do these creatures represent you- swordsmen?" He asked, voice rising slightly in a questioning tone.

Thor nodded, "Aye. Mratervi are the icon for all warriors in Asgard, although beyond the icons there are warrior beasts- creatures which match a warrior and become their signature." Thor grinned.

"So…it's like a clan animal, then a personal animal?" Steve struggled to follow while Tony leaned over towards Bruce.

"It's like Harry Potter mixed with Bob Marley." Tony snickered, causing Bruce to sigh, although smile slightly in amusement.

"…Aye, in some sort." Thor shuffled, giving a wry smile before glancing around, craning his neck around before pointing at one tall building in particular, at the far end of the road. "That is Gremhall. There the maidens foresee the beasts that dwell in mind and heart."

Bruce squinted, trying to see the tall, slightly more royal looking building, casted in dark slightly red granite with gold in laying around every window. Upon the roof top was not one of the three signature creatures, but instead something entirely different.

"And what's the wolf?" Clint asked, his sharp eyesight picking out the characteristics of the odd creature.

Thor glanced up, seeing the creature he shook his head, "Nay. Such beast is not from wolves of the north. Those are Mimrids, guardians of Mimir. They protect the well from those who approach, and for their protection they are gifted with sight." Thor explained as the group drew closer to the building at the far end of the street.

Indeed as they drew closer to the building, the wolf appearance gradually shifted to something different.

Indeed the muzzle and head was similar in shape, the ears were more tapered and pointed then a canine. The lack of fur was also distinguishable, as well as the two pair of long fangs pointing upright and downwards. From the back of its skull two large horns sprouted before looping back and running parallel to its lower jaw.

It in itself looked rather majestic in some sort of intimidating way.

"Those things actually _exist?" _Tony asked, finding the creature almost _normal _compared to the other three creatures, although it still seemed rather…impossible.

"Rare. They reside upon the roots of Ygdrassil, and judge those who seek passage." Thor spoke, glancing at the creature with some sort of guarded expression, "Legends passed from the Valkyries say that they sing most wonderful songs, but only when sorrow draws near."

A slight pause while each of the humans stared at the stone statue- this one was not withered or eroded, but kept in pristine form and chiseled with a careful hand. The creature itself was also a fair bit larger than the other stone statues, towering four feet from roof to head.

It was beautiful, yet once Thor had spoken of its songs, it seemed that everyone could actually hear them.

"…It sounds beautiful, Thor." Natasha spoke, causing Thor to smile over his shoulder as he glanced at her.

x-(X)-x

The merchants shop was large and open, supported by arches that allowed entrance from any conceivable angle. Horses of varying sizes and statures were tied carefully to stone hitching posts nearby small fountains, allowing them drink.

Thor paid no attention to the horses, walking past and through the arches to a high ceiling building, weapons hung on metal racks and thick swords leant against, glimmering in the sunlight.

"My prince!" The storeowner exclaimed in surprise, looking up from where he was speaking to a tall broad man with a bushy black beard. A grin was already forming upon his face as he rushed over towards Thor.

The man was tall, shorter then Thor's massive height but still taller, perhaps equal to Steve's height. He was not bulging with muscle like Thor and a larger general mass of Asgard, but instead had a smaller build with more toned muscles, casting no illusion of weakness.

"At rest, my friend." Thor chuckled, easing the nerves of the merchant, who nervously ran a hand through his long black wavy hair.

"Aye, what-what may I assist you with, my Prince?" He asked nervously, and Thor swept one hand out, managing to point to all of them at once.

"My friends have drawn interest in your wares. You are known well throughout Asgard for your trade, Lord Armitri." Thor noted, causing the man to smile slightly, before he swept into a bow.

"Your kind words mean much. I thank thee." Lord Armitri grinned, glancing at each of the Avengers, smile faltering slightly as he glanced at Sif, before taking a questionable glance at Thor.

"I- are there any wares you wish?" He asked, looking still unsure as he glanced at Natasha before looking at Clint.

"Just browsing for now." Steve spoke, firm voice drawing a nod from Lord Armitri who turned and moved back towards his customer prior, who was now examining a bronze axe.

"Fantastic, just browsing." Tony hummed, moving in a direct line towards a case where several long daggers stood with a wicked painful looking twist.

"Uh- _no."_ Clint clicked his tongue, reaching out and gently picking up a long spear, swinging it out to nail Tony in his torso.

The shaft clanked loudly against the invisible reactor, and managed to wind Tony enough for Natasha to walk past and gently lift one of the long daggers, observing it carefully.

Tony scowled, knowing now that there was no chance for him to actually _own _one of the daggers, and walked away, one hand clutching his chest and the remainder of his pride.

Bruce smiled at the display, shifting unnerved as he saw all of the pointy weapons around him. He felt the Other Guy stirring deep in his mind, and silently hushed him back to sleep- not wanting to draw attention.

Steve gradually wandered off to where the shields were kept, seeming surprised at the weight of the hefty looking objects. Thor noticed and chuckled, walking over with a smile as Steve was almost playing with the device.

"Oh! Er-" Steve fumbled to set it back, while Thor gingerly took it, holding it with one hand with amusement.

"Does the weight startle you, Friend Steven?" Thor chuckled, gently handing the metal disk back. Steve took it with two hands, still marveling over the lightness of it.

"It's- it's lighter than mine is." Steve confessed with a small smile, causing Thor to chuckle.

"As it should be. This is Uru, forged in Svartelheim by the master dwarves themselves. Even Mjolnir holds such metal." Thor chuckled, displaying his hammer.

"It's really that light?" Steve asked in fascination, knowing full well that it was incredibly heavy for anyone besides Thor.

"Aye." Thor chuckled, holding the shield aloft for Lord Armitri to see, "Friend! This shield has drawn our eye!" Thor shouted.

Lord Armitri glanced their way, showing a wide grin and a nod, turning back and exchanging gold pieces with the other man, who left with a wave while holding the battle axe.

Natasha was still observing one of the many daggers on display, turning and seeing how well it was balanced before the man approached, tilting his head slightly.

"…A dagger, Mi'lady?" He asked, slightly nervous as if unsure as to how to address her.

"I've used them in the past. Normally something smaller, easier to throw." Natasha spoke absentmindedly, flipping her hand and allowing the flat of the blade to balance on the back of her hand.

"I see you are a master of the discrete blades, not many are." Lord Armitri spoke, gingerly picking the dagger from her hand, careful not to cut her on the sharp edge.

"I'm surprised, I took Asgard warriors more for a…_flashy _fighter." Natasha spoke, dry voice drawling the words out as Lord Armitri chuckled lightly.

"Indeed most are. There are few who use a more…_sly _fighting style. They were not highly looked upon for such tactics." Lord Armitri sighed.

"And now? Do you have any?" Natasha asked, glancing at the man whose small smile faltered.

"…No. There was one who was gifted with throwing blades far beyond any I had ever met. And he- he is not of availability." Lord Armitri sighed, causing Natasha to frown.

"…He died?"

A dry chuckle from Armitri and he shook his head with a sigh, setting the dagger gently back into the case, "He may as well be."

Lord Armitri looked at Natasha with a slightly critical eye, before grabbing one of the smaller daggers, offering it to her hilt first with a raised eyebrow.

She grasped it easily, throwing it with precision as it lodged itself on a wooden section of the arches. Armitri looked it over before nodding appreciatively.

"I have a set of throwing knives- custom, but won't be better in all of Asgard. My employer won't come back for them, perhaps you'd like them?" He asked, Natasha arching one eyebrow as the man chuckled, turning and walking towards a section of the store where it was closed off, slipping behind a curtain.

A few seconds later and Armitri appeared once more, holding a box made of dark wood, walking over and gently setting it on the case where the daggers rested below. Natasha watched with interest as he undid several clasps, opening the ebony box with a slight creak.

It was clear that the box had not been opened for quite a while, and as Natasha gently reached out to feel the coolness of one of the blades, she heard a slight ethereal echoing noise.

"Made from Svriskul. Rare, not as rare as Uru, but not commonly used in weaponry. Most warriors don't like it for its sound when touched by other metals- it rings. And even glows slightly in darkness." Armitri smiled, while Natasha carefully lifted one of the knives from the black cushion.

Along the hilt of the silver throwing knife was a delicately carved snake, coiled tightly with fangs exposed. They seemed almost like a crest-

"Are these the signatures of who ordered the knives?" Natasha asked, tracing one of the snakes with her finger.

Armitri looked at the crest before smiling, "Aye. The owner was a serpent in mind as well as persona." Armitri sighed, causing Natasha to frown.

"Sly? Manipulative?" She guessed.

"Intelligent." Armitri inserted, correcting her words, "Calculating, not trusted, witty- misunderstood."

Natasha arched one brow, but said nothing, setting the knife back into the box and closing the lid firmly.

She turned her head, jerking it over towards Clint, who was examining a bow over on the far wall.

"I believe my friend may need your assistance." She smoothly responded, causing Armitri to nod and give a wry smile as he bowed, "Of course m'lady."

Natasha didn't even glance as he walked past her.

Clint had been investigating the bow, frowning at how the entire creation was made out of metal. It wasn't that he didn't like metal- but even the _bow string _was made from metal.

His own was made normally from a synthetic chord that was used normally in support wires on the Helicarrier- nothing would or could break it.

But with a metal wire, It seemed much more breakable, not to mention just odd as he pulled back on it, hearing it ring like he had just smacked a bell with a hammer.

"Is everything to your pleasing?" Clint glanced over his shoulder, seeing the storeowner approaching, seeing his frown.

"It's fine." He grunted back, running his hand once more over the cold awkward metal.

Lord Armitri was quick to notice his discomfort, and with little remorse he plucked the bow from the archer's hand, replacing it back on the wall.

"What-" Clint started, but paused when Armitri lifted a bow that had looked rather stupid from the bottom of the column.

It looked like some kid had run a red marker all over untreated wood, not to mention the bow was disfigured.

But Clint _had _been wondering _why _it was even on display with how _awful _it looked.

"You look unwell with bows of Svartalheim." Armitri offered with a slight smile, "Perhaps Alfheim will do you well?"

Clint had _no clue _what that was supposed to mean, but as he picked up the misshapen lump of what barely could pass as a stick, he glanced at Armitri with a raised brow.

Armitri smiled, bemused by his confusion, and reached out, shifting Clint's hand until one finger ran a line from each tip of the wood.

He frowned, then his eyes widening as the wood actually _glowed_, a slight dark red hue as the wood remolded itself in his grip, branching out to something arching with a deep slightly red wood.

"What?" Clint asked, eyes wide as he looked at the bow all over- looking like something from a Lord of the Ring's movie.

"A bow from Alfheim- they disguise their wares to not be stolen in battle. Enchanted well- this is a bow of _Hajfa' _Or fire in your modern tongue." Armitri explained.

Clint's eyebrows lifted once more as he looked at the bow, impressed. "Why doesn't everyone use this then?"

Armitri rolled his eyes, "Seidr is not looked upon with appreciation by warriors. Who would prefer those who favor trees and flowers, instead of those with steel in their blood?" Armitri asked with a slightly condescending voice as he sighed, looking almost embarrassed by his slight outburst.

"Well, that's stupid." Clint scowled, causing Armitri to let out a bark of laughter as he nodded, Clint looking at the bow once more.

"So what can it do? Blow fire?" Clint asked, glancing at the bow.

"Nay- Alfheim use Seidr only with option, not with every strike." He explained, reaching out and plucking the bow string, pulling it back.

From where he pulled it, something that looked like a tiny lightning bolt gathered between the bowstring and the bow. He relaxed, and the little bolt slowly vanished from sight.

Clint's eyes were wide as he released a sudden grin, a nod and he looked at his bow ever closer, "Sweet."

He moved, holding it aloft and pulling back the bowstring, watching as the white light gathered, straightening until it resembled an arrow at full extension. He took aim at a pillar, and let it fly.

The light flew like a normal arrow, lodging into the stone before slowly vanishing from sight.

"This thing is endless?" Clint asked glancing at the bow appreciatively.

"Nay- only a select amount of Seidr may be released at a time, it will return eventually." Armitri offered, and Clint was growing even more appreciative of the bow.

"And the fire thing?" Clint asked, drawing the arrow back once more.

"Twist." Armitri offered, and Clint frowned but flicked the wrist where he had the energy pulled by his fingertips.

Immediately the arrow shifted color to a dark crimson, and as he let it fly, a long fiery trail followed it up into the sky.

As it vanished from sight, Clint looked back at the dark wood in interest. The color was still odd- looking like a darker mahogany if anything.

He looked at Armitri with a grin, "How much?"

x-(X)-x

Steve frowned, feeling rather wide awake yet the sun was setting rather quickly actually.

"Is it almost night already?" He asked verbally, the others glancing up, some even looking surprised at the location of the sun.

"My watch says it's only six." Bruce stated with a frown, seeing the sun setting in the distance.

"Aye, one of your mortal days lasts far longer than those of Aesir." Thor spoke, not seeming to care.

"So Asgard has a smaller size as a planet? Spin's faster?" Tony asked, not calculating the new information as he was looking at his newly bought Asgardian weaponry- an Alfheim crossbow, or the closest equivalent.

"Seems like it."Clint muttered, still looking around as darkness slowly settled over the city.

No later than a few moments when bright streetlamps illuminated the area, casting a dazzling gleam all around.

"Night certainly isn't an issue." Natasha noted, holding the dark wooden box under one arm carefully.

"Nay. We hold no difference to dusk as we do day. The stores are closed, and no feasts begin, but many stay awake well into the night." Thor explained.

"So jobs and other day activities are done similar to our clock, but then you have a long evening before sleeping." Bruce summarized with a smile.

"Aye! But only once the sun has set are the taverns open." Thor grinned, a twinkle in his eye.

Tony gave a loud cheer, and Steve only sighed in response.

x-(X)-x

"No! You can't do this! I'm innocent! I'm _innocent!"_

He did not even glance up at the screams and cries of the man being brought in. The containment field to his left faltered- lowered before the sniveling man was thrown in. Before he could turn to escape, the field was raised once more.

He heard the screams, and the muted banging as he slammed again and again on the golden containment field.

He could hear the slight groans and muffled complaints from the other prisoners, already growing quickly annoyed with the new addition to their group.

The guards on shift merely scoffed at such display, moving and closing the hefty doors behind them, locking them in imprisonment.

"Let me out! Let me-"

"Oh _shut up!"_ One from across the hall shouted, voice rough and angry. The voice to his left instantly whimpered and quieted.

_'Finally'_ He thought with a sigh, leaning back once more against the sterilized white of the cell floor and ceiling.

It was frustratingly clean- always reeking of the scent of the harshest cleaners and those of purifying waters that were often used to clean clothing. The Lights were always bright, dimming slightly as if to compensate for night or when they were supposed to sleep.

On occasion the guards would enter the complex, create a ruckus, even sometimes lower the fields to attack one or two of the lower level weaklings in the prisons.

Of course, they never even _dared _glance towards him.

He heard the new one next to him sniveling, whispering something under his breath constantly. It was grating on his nerves.

"Will you be _silent?" _He hissed, turning while his eyes narrowed in anger, jaw tense.

His eyes fell upon the new one- he did not appear much older, yet he seemed much weaker. Thin clothes and tattered pants adorned his legs. Dirt along his exposed collar line- a trader, or a traveling merchant.

His wide dumb looking brown eyes met the violent green in his eyes, enough faint recognition to inspire fear.

"Y-You're-" The merchant stuttered, stumbling back despite the golden shielding between the two.

"Loki." Loki finished with a slight sneer, dark look causing the man to tremble slightly where he was huddled on the floor.

Loki had kept appearances for a long time- no Seidr could pass through the golden walls, yet all could transpire between them. Illusions were simple- he had been practicing them all his life they were of little difficulty to uphold. Within his cell, keeping an illusion up was easier than even _reading._

The man let out a shaky exhale. Even having the _nerve _to meet Loki's eye almost arrogantly, and stating in a slightly whining voice, "_You're _behind walls- you _can't _hurt me."

Loki's eyes narrowed as he gave the smallest of smirks, "Oh?"

"I-" The man stuttered, shaking his head determinedly, "I-I'm good. I'm innocent- I-"

_'Oh please, shut up.' _Loki thought, looking rather bored.

"I-I have a f-family, a-and I have ch-children." He stuttered, and Loki resisted the urge to slam his fist against the golden wall.

A flash of golden hair, bright happy blue eyes, and a smile that brought form the laughter fit for Valkyries-

Loki closed his eyes, banishing such thought from where he dared not go inside his mind.

"You best not speak of such things, ears of this hall are not forgiving." One from across the hall sneered, the deep rumbling voice of a mountain troll as its dark grey skin seemed white in the light.

The man gave another whimper, before swallowing quickly and looking to his left side, where a large Gratch' warrior stood, sneering at him with twin tusks protruding.

He started muttering once more and Loki rolled his eyes, looking around for any distraction possible.

After a few moments he heard a slight clicking noise. The man to his left was emptying his pockets- such a lowly merchant had not been seen as important enough to have been searched for weapons.

Loki was not interested, but glanced over nonetheless, seeing what the man had been carrying out of curiosity.

The first thing he pulled was obviously one of his wares. A dagger crafted from metal, not strong and not significant.

It was almost amusing to see the male throw himself at the golden barrier with the shank of a weapon. It sparked a few times, yet his feeble attempts actually managed to make one woman chuckle from in a cell behind them.

Two more strikes and the blade snapped, rebounding and bouncing across the cell floor.

"Nice try- I've used the hilt first." Another male drawled. Causing the sniveling man to continue his efforts.

He had tried everything, even attempting to scratch the ground with a gilded spoon. It was amusing, even Loki's lips upturned for a few seconds.

"Done tryin' yet?" The woman from behind chirped up, a double fanged smirk worming its way between her lips.

He shook his head, scrambling for anything left in his coat.

"Just give up." Someone else groaned, having grown annoyed by the attempt.

Loki was now bored, the man was obviously still desperate. He was surrounded by murderers, assassins, master thieves, or those with treachery sentences. What was this new man? At most a petty burglar, maybe smuggling cabbages under his tunic?

"Give it up kid, you're not getting out." Someone drawled, but it only seemed to make the man hurry to find a way to escape.

They weren't overly paying attention anymore to the man, so when Loki heard a…_new _sort of whisper, the quiet song of new Seidr in his ear.

Loki normally would ignore such whispers; he would be attempting to escape through Seidr, just as Loki had long ago. But this- this was different. This was the songs of the elven kind, and this man was no elf.

He turned, glancing over at the man and his eyes landing on the small purple orb which rested on the ground before him.

Loki realized immediately what it was the moment the humming increased, and hastily threw one arm up to create a thick shield, one of the strongest he could.

It erupted, the man screaming as the light burned his flesh as it burst outwards, colliding with the golden walls which buckled. Loki's shield hit with the sudden shifting of the golden barrier.

He grunted, feeling the sapping of Seidr through his body nearly immediately as the device took effect, and knocked him to the floor.

He grunted, wincing as the force which knocked him down winded him, but slowly rose. He was aware of the sudden silence within the entire cell complex, and slowly eased himself upright.

The newcomer's cell was destroyed, the four golden walls were ruined, fizzling weakly while they attempted to fix what the Seidr neutralizer stole.

The man himself was destroyed, a mangled corpse with a face fixed in a silent scream.

Loki eased himself out of his cell, stepping out of the destroyed wall leading to the corpse just as the large tusked warrior mimicked his actions with a slight wince.

He obviously did not have a shield, the wince and the sudden limp was obvious as he made his way out into the broken cell, then out onto the main hallway.

All eyes were on the two of them, and thankfully a few stern looks and the entire prison was near silent.

Loki tested his illusion, feeling it flicker and trying his best to not let out a whimper as his core throbbed, the lack of Seidr painful.

_'It seemed that it neutralized not only my Seidr.' _Loki thought, seeing a rather pale female leaning heavily against her golden wall.

The tusked man limped towards the large doors with little thought; only Loki remembered the guards on the other side and cloaked himself with invisibility, just as someone shouted out, "The guards you fool!"

The door was swung open, and the two guards on the other side turned in surprise, swinging their spears while the ram horned warrior knocked one down.

The one guard gasped as the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs, his spear ripped from his hands. The warrior spun, attempting to impale the guard and parrying the other spear with vicious intent.

Loki watched with a frown, wincing as his shoes made so much more noise, yet hidden amidst the clatter of the weapons and armor against the ground.

One guard gasped in pain as the horned warrior rammed the spear against his breastplate, managing to puncture through the metal, simultaneously snapping the metallic tip. It seemed not to matter to the ruthless warrior, who just propelled the wooden shaft deeper, bubbled gasps his response as they punctured his lungs.

The guard on the ground drew a blade from along his calf, ramming it upwards into the unprotected backside of the warrior, and he too collapsed as his spine was severed. The guard panted under the weight of the slowly dying prisoner, and Loki used it as his only escape.

He ran, well worn shoes thudding loudly over the stone flooring, pausing briefly as he leapt like a stallion over the deceased figure of the guard, avoiding the crimson pool around his body.

Loki did not look back, even as he turned left sharply, breath leaving in heavy pants through the sudden exertion, unfamiliar and new from his time in the cell. The hallways seemed so large, so _cold _compared to the always almost-hot gold of the cells and the constant roars from his fellow prisoners.

The silence was almost painful, and although Loki was suddenly more aware than ever before, reaching out with his Seidr and actually hearing Seidr sing _back_, he felt incredibly small.

Breaths expelled before rapidly drawn back in, eventually the walls spreading into the large columned filled room, royal balconies normally swarmed with Asgardians suddenly bare, and empty, as if the royal palace had been abandoned.

The lack of light was a clear indication that it was night- a common time. Loki was lucky, night was one of the few times that the royal palace was to be left in silence and in dark abandon. If it had been day, worming through the crowd would be difficult, avoiding the spellcasters or the resident wardbuilders would be near impossible.

He cared little for appearance as he hurried to one of the exposed balconies, legs trebling as he gripped the banister for strength as he breathed quickly once more, even if to simply taste fresh oxygen tasting slightly of flower blossoms on his tongue.

_'The sky' _he through, his inner monologue slightly distorted from the sound of relief, _'I can see the stars again. I can feel Ygdrassil.'_

He inhaled once more, slowly his hyperventilation ceased and in the end, his illusion faltered as his bright unfamiliar grin would have been seen by any who was observing.

A faint breeze drifted upwards from a thermal made from the buildings built so far below. It was welcome, such an odd sensation nearly foreign on his skin, such a long time he had been imprisoned, then on Midgard, then falling aimlessly through reality itself.

Loki had _really _come to miss it.

_'I am free. I have naught long before they realize of my escape.' _He quickly deducted, looking with calculating eyes to the bright fires bordering the paths and the small specs that he knew to be Asgardians, _'Of which realm will I be best hid, or will they not expect of me?'_

His first thought was of Midgard- so many places along the realm. He could hide away in the dense forests or along the peaks of its icy mountains. No, it would not be safe as long as Thor _not his brother, _continued to reside on its land.

_'Certainly not Svartalheim, even I am not fool enough to risk such quest. Nor Alfheim, they would easily betray me, or not accept a prisoner.' _He reasoned, frown settling further in his face as he quickly started to narrow down his list of possible escapes.

By the point where his list dwindled to locations he could count on one hand, with fingers to spare, he knew that capture was inevitable.

He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes as the brief option flickered through his mind to turn himself in once more.

Then, even quickly the thought that he should _jump once more_ made itself known.

"No." He spoke, voice a whisper yet still startling him, cautioning him to be more wary of anyone around him, _'If I am to perish, I will not die without last requests.' _He summed up, nostrils flaring as his head turned towards the west, and the small mountain range within sight, beyond that was his target, _'I will not leave without seeing she who still welcomes me.'_

x-(X)-x

Sneaking through the palace was not as easy as he had originally believed.

Loki had done it many times, even before he had learned the ways of Seidr he had snuck amongst the hidden passages beyond tapestries, and hallways etched in the stone. But now? It seemed the moment that he was truly to be found, it grew the hardest.

He had hours, already he had escaped the higher balconies and ledges that made up the royal throne and housing. Now he was moving in the belly of the palace, nearing the back doors and closest to the stables. If he was to snatch a horse, even for one day he could reach the valley beyond the mountain pass so much faster.

Footsteps. He pressed himself behind a pillar that lined the deep arches of the hall, although invisible. He watched with a wary eye as many guards rushed past, a muffled horn alerting all of the palace to the escaped prisoners. He had little time left.

The sun had begun to rise, and unease quickly rose in the pit of Loki's stomach. Who was to say the Norns were on his side? He could be caught then and there if a Seidr master was to walk past on a simple stroll through towards the stables. Loki's position was not good- and he was disgusted because of it.

Glancing both ways he made a quick dash, each soft patter of his well worn prison shoes seeming to echo until he was sure that all of Asgard could hear it. Ever closer, the thick pungent odor of stallions and mares wafting into his nose as a surprisingly comforting smell.

Once more, he glanced both ways, moving and actually leaping over one of the small barriers of the stall, pressing himself against the half wall as he heard talking and feet move just not seconds after his movement.

"-onsers! Guards, dead, apparently Guarm, the survivor managed to slay the mongrel." A boy, no older then breaching manhood scowled, a scoffing hacking noise that suggested he was spitting, "Isn't that terrible Heryda?"

"Of course. It is good he is dead- the vermin." Another voice, even younger clarified, Loki holding his breath until his chest burned as the two walked away. If they had even peered into the stall, Loki's escape may have been ruined, yet again his illusion may still have held.

He waited once more before scanning the stall, the horse abandoned and he quickly scavenged what he could. A thick moth eaten blanket was crumpled on the ground. He grasped it, snatching and grasping what looked to be the remains of a worn and broken bridle. He unwound the leather, turning it into a thong which he threaded around the blanket, snatching a shattered horseshoe before securing the bundle under his arm- quite possibly the only previsions he would be able to gain on his trip.

A horseshoe, an old blanket, and a strip of leather.

(as terrible as the situation seemed, Loki had survived on less during a hunting escapade gone wrong with Thor. He was both embarrassed and proud to admit such a fact).

_'A horse? I will move faster.' _He reasoned, glancing at one grey stallion, its muzzle soft as its gums nibbled at the oats provided, gentle eyes not holding judgment or hate as Loki looked at it with longing.

He brushed one hand against its head, feeling the soft coat before smiling softly, turning and walking away without another word. He reached out, snatching one of the old tart apples. The taste was awful, stale and tasting of wormwood and dirt, yet its juice soothed his long since sore throat.

_'Here I am, resorting to eating food meant for beasts.' _He thought, taking another dive and taking shelter under an overturned empty barrel of mead as another stable hand walked past bored, _'And yet, I seem to be hunted as if one.'_

He looked out of the window- the sun was rising even more, as if taunting him and his predicament. He had to escape, quickly.

_'The back roads along the flower maidens. From there I can slip under the western watchman's eyes and to the country. From there, I can scavenge the hills and valleys for months if I must.' _He planned, eyes narrowing before making his move once more, bursting out of the stables.

The streets of Asgard were still abandoned, only stray hounds walked past, paying no mind as they chuffed loudly, nostrils flaring as they looked at him and continued on their merry way.

The next alley was marked by thick swatches of green moss and old cobblestone. The trail was not well known, and he stuck to it, hoping for ignorance.

The trailing path opened to small gardens made of honeysuckle and comfrey. He could not wait and admire such aromas, he had to carry on. Taking care not to disrupt a patch of lavender nestled amidst the lilacs, he hurried towards the larger wall, which separated the flower maiden's abode from the western road and toll gate.

He paused a moment, breathing heavily and resting against the thick stone wall, glancing down and seeing the purple blossoms of Cyclamen surrounding his feet, stretching along the wall as if a border between the garden and all of Asgard.

He reached down, plucking one of the flowers and staring at its light blossoms, delicate among his much too pale sun starved skin. It looked too beautiful for him to be holding.

"To luck." He murmured under his breath, holding the blossom between two fingers before blowing almost unnoticed, the breeze carrying it up, where a light wind caught its petals and carried it even further.

Loki did not have time to admire, and instead he hefted the blanket up onto the top of the stone wall, and hurried after, hissing in pain as the small gaps forced his fingertips to scrabble for a hold, nails cracking from their untrimmed time and drawing blood in his scramble to the top.

He hefted breath, brushing his chaotic mess of hair from his eyes as he observed the long western road, and the golden gates that held it from the outer edge of Asgard.

Loki knew his attempts to scale such a wall were futile. Flying over in his condition would be much too dangerous, the sudden shifting back to his own skin, or the risk of no shifting at all was much too high for him to risk. His only path was through the wall, where the guardsmen stood with spears drawn.

Loki paused, glancing at his horseshoe and considered.

As if the Norns had gifted him their grace, he heard a slight clicking of hooves on stone, and within his sight a covered wagon, pulled by two strong bay stallions appeared, the Asgardian steering them looking old and weathered- well known.

_'Thank you Norns.' _Loki silently prayed, throwing his bag to the bottom and jumping down, biting his lip to hide the hiss of pain as the shockwave sent a sudden pulse through his much too weakened limbs, sending him crashing to the floor and the weed infested bank.

The wagon was slow, and offered no resistance as Loki heaved himself into its covered bowel, nestling against a box of strongly smelling turnips and other ripe produce.

He nearly cried as the guard let him and the wagon through with naught but a single blink, well used to this traveler or famer passing through the western wall.

Tension was slowly released as he slumped back against the rough fiber sacks containing what Loki could assume were carrots. As much as he hated to say, and as pathetic as he felt- it was the most comfortable he had felt in years.

_Free._

x-(X)-x

Steve groaned, moving slightly as he opened his eyes blearily.

Objects were blurred, almost as if underwater. What used to be vibrant and sharp seemed dull in comparison, and the constant pounding in his head was forcing him to not dwell deeply on such issue.

He slumped forward once more, head embracing something cold and soft, unconsciously snuggling his face further into the pillow provided.

"Cockadoodledo I'm a rooster and you are a fricken _lightweight."_ A voice pressured, a roar of noise against his skull, a slightly clicking noise of a tongue on teeth, "A shame. I thought you actually had a chance against Goldilocks."

"Tony." Steve mumbled, not wishing to lift his voice any higher than the murmur he could speak without pain.

He heard the low snickers as he threw open the curtains, bright sunlight filling the room as Steve winced through the pain.

"Don't worry Cap, it gets easier." Tony smirked, opening his mouth to comment further before he was cut off.

Tony turned, opening the extravagant window and peering out to listen harder, and even through the pulsing of Steve's head he too could hear the faint sounds of deep resonating horns blowing.

"Are those attack horns?" Steve asked, snapping to awareness while the pounding in his head slowly fading to a dull throb, "Are we under attack?"

Tony looked back, eyes widening before he scowled, "How the- okay, instant hangover cure is _not cool_." He scowled, turning and opening the door while casually shrugging, "Probably not Cap. Besides, we've got an army of bodybuilders, I don't think that some idiot would actually _attack _us." Tony smirked.

"If I remember correctly, Stark, _you _attacked Thor when you first met." Natasha spoke, walking out from where her corresponding room was from across the hall, Clint following without hesitation from where he had been seated somewhere beyond the wall.

"Come on! We didn't know that Hammertime was on our side at the time!" Tony whined, causing Clint to chuckle, one hand pressed firmly against his temple as his eyes were slightly dilated.

"You still are hurting?" Steve asked, sympathetic as he remembered the vicious pounding.

Clint opened one eye, looking at Steve with a wry smile as he shrugged, rolling his shoulders, "Wasn't expecting it. Asgardian booze has a…kick."

Tony snorted from where he snatched one of the complementary chairs, leaning against it with little care, "You can say that again, feel like Natashalie took me down with those assassin thighs." Tony winked, and Natasha scowled.

"Would you like a demonstration, Stark?"

"See, _just _like the booze. Looks great, and has twice the ki-" Tony paused as another body filled the doorway, black hair and in distinct Asgardian armor.

"Hey! Hogun…right?" Tony asked, and the man nodded sharply.

"Come. Thor is waiting for you nearest the palace dungeons." He grunted out, turning and walking away with a nearly soundless stomp.

"What about Bruce?" Tony shouted back, and Hogun glanced back.

"He is already waiting." Hogun responded sharply, already on the move.

They scrambled out, hurrying to clear the room while Steve hastily threw on any clothing he could snatch before they lost sight of Thor's friend. Even then, they had to scamper around before catching sight of the dark metal warrior.

They hurried after, Tony chatting loudly while Clint still had one hand pressed against his temple. Natasha was looking at the fine art, tapestries made from strands shimmering like gold as they descended a large marble staircase.

"Wow, don't go cheap on the guards." Tony muttered, seeing the large thick armored guards who stood motionlessly before a huge door.

It was propped open, and beyond that was an open room, a corridor extending left and right, past another door where another set of guards stood.

Or more noticeably, where Thor, and five guards stood.

"My friends." Thor smiled, seeing them out of the corner of his eye, giving them a tired smile as he stepped away, the crowd parting slightly.

Bruce was there as well, observing with a slightly distressed look as the scene was revealed- two men both dead and lying in scarlet. Three women dressed in white veils flicked around, hands glowing as they practiced Seidr to learn more.

"Whoa- what happened here?" Tony asked, giving a low whistle as they approached the scene.

"That is Hroggr, he was imprisoned decades ago for attempted murder against the Allfather." A woman spoke, turning and Steve felt faint recognition that she was one of Thor's friends, although the name eluded him.

"Aye. I remember he. Defeated two squadrons of our warriors before our wardcasters silenced his steel." Thor sighed, lowering himself to look mournfully at the dead guard, "Rest in Valhalla." He murmured.

"How did he get out?" Natasha asked, eyes flicking to the woman, "Are your cells not secure."

"Our cells are _very secure." _ She ground out, the three veiled women pausing before brushing past with whispers of apologize and hurrying away. "There was a…plotted escape." She stressed.

"He waited for decades to escape _now?"_ Tony asked, clicking his tongue and nudging the corpse, poking at the horns curiously.

"Nay." Thor sighed, propping the door open and allowing the others to walk inside, revealing the shattered ruins and slight flickering lights of three decimated cells.

"I've already looked it over, almost like an electromagnetic containment field." Bruce fired off, removing his glasses to rub at his eyes exhaustedly. "But it works like a Covalent network. I looks like something disrupted the ions and it all just…collapsed on itself." Bruce sighed, looking awkward as he was unable to explain the disarray of the cells.

"Well, looks like something smashed it all up." Clint noted, looking inside the broken cell at what appeared to be a broken splintered table, wood fragments looking charred as they rested on the ground of the cell, "Burned too."

"Aye." Thor sighed, "We only suggest a strong Seidr wielder could manage such a feat, yet the cell holds Seidr from even the highest ranking caster. None of whom we know could manage this." Thor frowned, and Steve looked up with a frown, seeing the other silent prison inmates staring at them from behind the golden wall.

"What about the guy inside?" Steve asked, and Tony gave a curt chuckle, straightening from where he had been crouched inside the cell, black dust falling from his fingertips.

"He's charcoal Cap." Tony spoke, voice slightly dull while Bruce flinched slightly and Clint gave a disappointed sigh, wincing and hand moving to his temple. His hangover was really becoming inconvenient.

"What about witnesses? What happened to the other prisoner- there's three cells." Steve pointed out, looking at Thor who managed to look uncomfortable.

"Those not parts of the king's guard are not permitted to walk among the halls of the imprisoned." Sif cut him off, giving a slight nod as she stared at the cell with a small frown, "We know not of whom was released or killed."

Natasha gave a small sigh, turning and looking at a rather bored man was sprawling against the golden wall of the cage, watching them all with a careful eye directly across from the ruin.

"You saw." Natasha spoke, voice sharp and cutting, eyes like flint as she crossed her arms calmly, "You know who escaped."

The man very slowly straightened, looking upwards and using one hand to push his greasy hair out of his sharp eyes and thick jaw set.

It seemed the moment that Natasha had spoken directly to the male, the rest of the prison seemed to awaken. Low murmurs as they talked through the walls, and eventually, one weasel faced man cried out in a nasally voice, "You tell 'em nothing! You say nothing Scraug!"

"Silence!" Thor thundered, drawing Mjolnir from his belt and holding it threateningly aloft. "You will answer to the crown prince!"

The man said nothing, jaw still tense as his eyes drifted across the group, and he said nothing.

"Come on man, it'll be easier for you if you just go with it." Clint noted, watching.

The man said something, guttural and with a sharp hacking sound at the end. From Sif's soundless snarl of anger and her drawing her sword and Thor's tightening of his fist, he could assume it to be an insult.

"We just want to know who was in this cell." Steve soothed, before clambering up onto the raised platform of the broken cell and pointing, rotating to see everyone as he shouted out, "Does _anyone _know who was in this cell!"

Silence before another harsh word, said in a tongue Steve didn't know and uttered from the lips of a woman with the faintest appearance of maybe once looking attractive.

Men laughed loudly, one even giving out what Tony could recognize as a cat call before Bruce looked at Sif curiously.

"She called him a maiden." She summed bored, "And complemented him on his tight armor."

Steve blushed, face reddening as Tony joined in with laughter of his own, Clint snickering as the woman gave a large hook jawed grin, giving a mock curtsey as the laughter continued with lewd comments.

"Charming." Natasha drawled bored, looking at the silent man with an arched eyebrow, "You going to tell us now? We aren't going to let you out, but you're jealous. You want out, you've been here for a long time." Natasha summed up, leaning against the broken cage with a slight sway, "You don't have anything to lose."

There was a pause, before the man opened his mouth and ground out something low, "He was witty. Not now, not ever." He grunted out, voice low and seeming to vibrate, more so then Thor's even.

Natasha paused, and gave a sharp nod, one hand touching Thor's wrist to keep his arm down instead of charging the cage in a flurry of anger.

Bruce sighed, one hand rubbing against the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh.

"So we're looking for a _witty _prisoner. In all of Asgard's dungeons, we search for one among many who have a tongue too sharp for their mouth." Sif scoffed, scowling and beginning to pace, sheathing her sword once more.

"Sounds like you Stark." Clint muttered, causing Tony to roll his eyes.

"Hey, not everyone has my _amazing _wit and charisma." Tony smirked, causing Bruce to turn to hide a smile.

"Stark, you could make a _fish _blush." Clint deadpanned, and Tony snorted, moving back to playing with the broken golden light of the cell.

"You flatter him." Natasha deadpanned, causing Clint to roll his eyes as Tony mock fluttered his eyes.

"You show em' flower!" One of the prisoners shouted, and another wave of wolf whistles and loud cheers, causing Tony to give a small twirl, even gaining applause on a few cells.

"Your company is concerning. You tend to pick tricksters on your journeys?" Sif asked dryly, and Thor gave a small chuckle, before ceasing almost immediately.

Sif seemed to catch his trail of thoughts, and she froze, turning to look at the cell before the two seemed to lunge upwards and onto the cell.

"What? Thor?" Clint asked, stepping out of the way as the two of them hurriedly scanned the cell, as if searching for something.

"Thor." Sif spoke, hands running along a faint groove along the bottom of the cell, and Thor moved to investigate it, seeing the small part where the ground was polished, as if rubbed until it shone.

"What's that?" Tony asked jumping over before squatting nearby, looking at the rub spot in confusion, "Cellmate was OCD about rub marks?"

"If what we speculate is true, then that would be a pleasure." Sif muttered, rising and scanning the ground, looking for another rub mark.

"Who do you think it is?" Clint asked, looking around as quiet murmurings continued, and Thor looked at Sif who only gave a small nod.

"…He has escaped, hasn't he?" Thor asked quietly, looking towards the large silent man before.

He lifted one hand, pressing his lips to the old knuckles and almost emotionless he lifted it in an unrecognizable act of luck, or faith.

"Luck to the Trickster." He smirked, lips pulled back while the other occupants gave out large hoots and hollers. Clint slowly growing pale as the full realization hit him.

"Luck to the Trickster!"

"May you never find the Liesmith!" Another cackled loudly, and amidst the chaos the nearly silent man gave a noticeable nod to Thor.

_'Find him and drag him back here. I dare you.'_

Thor's eyes narrowed.

x-(X)-x

Weapons were drawn, sword sharpened. Cloaks and armor were adorned, and commands shouted quickly as mothers hushed their children and herded them into homes.

Word spread quickly, one guard with a loose tongue and by noon all of Asgard was well aware of the death of one loyal guard and prisoner, as well as a dangerous injury to the other.

And the fact that _Loki escaped._

"Wait- what exactly is going on?" Tony asked, holding up his hands as if to emphasize his confusion.

They were walking briskly, Thor leading them while the group stumbled after, adorning their armor, or Asgardian armor they had found worked best. Clint had two bows, his new Asgardian one strung across his back while his normal was compacted, resting on a converted sword sheath.

"My brother has escaped his confines." Thor explained, his voice a deep rumble of thunder, "He feels only anger at his imprisonment. My father and I have decided to return him to the cells to restore peace and security to our people." His words resonated strongly as he spoke.

"Sure, I get that, but sending out a freaking _Calvary?" _Tony asked, eyebrows raised in shock, "The King's army?"

Thor ignored Tony's shock and merely continued on walking, the others struggling to match his long strides.

"Thor, isn't that a bit…_much?"_ Steve asked hesitantly, and Thor scoffed lightly.

"Nay. You doubt my brother's danger in desperation. They have not fought Loki as I have. They know naught of his tricks." Thor explained, and shook his head at a guard who held a sword out, scurrying out of the way as Thor brushed past.

"So you're heading out to find him?" Natasha asked almost emotionlessly, causing Thor to chuckle slightly, although not nearly as amused as he normally would be.

"Nay. _We _are heading out to find him." Thor corrected, just as they descended the steps towards the busy bustling corridor filled with the musty smell of animals and loud bustling voices.

"My prince!" One stable hand gasped, rushing through the crowd with a large brown horse saddled and bridled, tossing its head gently.

"Thank you, my friend. The others?" Thor asked, taking the horse as the boy jerked his hand out towards the large open doors.

"Wait- _what?"_ Tony asked in stunned shock as Thor shouldered his way past the crowd, the others following as they saw a large chunk of Calvary being led off by Sif who pointed on one spot on a map. She turned, seeing the group and walking over, wearing shining armor and long swords along her hips.

"Thor." She acknowledged, "Fandrall has escorted a legion towards Vanaheim, Volstagg has sent the missionaries towards Alfheim and Svardalheim." She explained, eyes flicking over the Avengers.

"Excellent. Hogun?" Thor asked, looking over his horse and tightening a few of the straps as he looked for the five horses along the side that were unmistakably for each of the Avengers, along with a horse bearing what looked to be camping equipment.

"A fleet along the southern seas to search for any ships." Sif explained, and Thor nodded glancing over at the map which glowed faintly in a few spots.

"I remember Loki often fleeing to the Eastern forests after disputes." Thor pointed to a spot which currently was not glowing. At once, Sif signaled for a solder to investigate, after a few quick words he moved back, jumping on a horse before two dozen chased after.

"You're combing the entire world?" Bruce asked in surprise, looking down at the map in surprise, "Will it be that easy?"

"Loki is gifted with tricks." Sif scowled, "If any is to hide like a hound, then it is he. A _coward."_

Tony frowned, looking at Bruce as he too noticed the open hostility that Sif displayed. Thor said nothing, looking at the map and tracing a few places with his finger.

"Are any of these locations nearest citizens?" Thor asked, and Sif peered over.

"Beyond the Grais Mountains, there are families who live without our gifts." Sif explained, pointing to an area at the far side of the mountain, "Do you suspect them to be a target?"

"He is angry. It is well possible that he will strike anywhere he can. Have any horsemen been sent to scour the valley before the mountains?" Thor asked and Sif shook her head.

"The land is large, do you truly suspect he will reach the peaks and pass without alarm?" She frowned, and Thor sighed. Sif said nothing before looking behind and pointing to a new fleet of horses, ready to depart.

"You! Take your fleet and scour the Flaet valley. Keep sentinels scanning at all times, he is not to pass the Grais Mountains." Sif shouted, the horses tossing their heads and departing.

"We…we're on a manhunt?" Bruce asked quietly, looking at the horse with a small smile, as if the great creature was comforting.

"We are to find my brother." Thor explained, looking at the map once more, "It is more likely he will attempt to reach the Grais Mountains, from there he will be able to regain enough Seidr to travel anywhere in Ygdrassil." Thor explained, turning to face his friends, "I trust you will ride alongside me?"

"I'll do it only to put an arrow through that cockroach's neck." Clint spoke, eyes narrowed as a dark frown pulled at his mouth.

"I'll come." Natasha spoke, looking at the horse's before looking back, "Which is mine?"

There was little to be said as the others mounted the horses, each having at least slight experience. (Tony had said that he dated a cowgirl once. Bruce traveling the world where cars did not exist. Steve had enough horses on the battlefield, and Clint and Natasha were spies.)

"So…we are taking the other horse also?" Tony asked, watching as Thor tied the horse's reigns to his saddle, giving a nod as he glanced at Tony.

"Aye, without provisions one would not last long in this wilderness. Dire wolves, Chayubra, Bildgesnipe and Drake's. Norns have little forgiveness within our woods." Thor explained, kicking his horse into a trot "We must make haste. The guards were alerted just past sunrise, he has perhaps a day over us." Thor started, a small smile on his face before his horse jumped into a run. "Hah!"

The Avengers followed after, horse's hooves pounding against the cobblestone until eventually dirt and sod was upturned and left a mess behind.

_The hunt was on._

X-(X)-x

Loki's eyes flickered open as the wagon dipped into a deeper rut along the trail, a precariously balanced bag of potatoes rolling before dropping, its added weight jarring Loki into reality.

He blinked, looking up and momentarily disoriented from the peculiar smell and moving surroundings. Only a few seconds before recollection struck, and he was once more silent, attempting to judge the time through the canvas roofing over the harvested crops.

He shifted, careful to make the movement near silent as he casted a glance at the head of the wagon, still seeing the outline of the farmer whose ride he managed to sneak aboard.

He shifted, trying to make his movements not jerky although his body was stiff, and slightly sore from such an physically exhausting escape earlier.

He hesitantly pulled at the canvas flap, wincing as the sunlight- something he was not used too after such a long time, seared his retinas raw.

He hissed, recoiling and palming his eyes to try and allow the pain to dissipate slightly. _'photophobia' _his mind supplied, and he once more cursed his inability to see from his _confinement._

The wagon hitched once more, and this time Loki took his time, trying to cast the thinnest veil of Seidr over his eyes to help them from the sudden brightness.

He peered out, and the Seidr did in fact help, they had progressed a fair way. Already the mountain looked over them, but more concerning.

They were taking a path along the _base _of the mountain.

Loki's eyes widened in slight panic as he craned his head, looking for the road that was behind them. Blocked, somewhere beyond the ridge that blocked it from sight.

Loki was going the _wrong way._

He mentally cursed, feeling desperate as he looked around, peered out and glanced along the road where they were going.

Small figures in the distance, slowly gaining in size as they grew dark in colour.

Loki had gone on enough quests, enough journeys and enough tricks to recognize the shape of horses in the distance. Lest of all, the king's guard.

His eyes widened- he had no suspicion that the guards were sent to scour the land for him. They would hold no mercy in a search for Loki, a peasant farmer would be ransacked.

Loki did not hesitate. He snatched a near empty bag of apples, perhaps only half a dozen nestled in the bottom. He scrambled to shove the old worn horse blanket and shoved his bundle in with haste. He hooked it over his shoulder, the weight tugging slightly painfully on his shoulder through the thin prisoner tunic, and snapped his fingers to cast the illusion.

How he hoped there was no Wardcasters alongside the guards.

He hit the ground, rolling and trying to muffle his yelp of pain as his back crunched along the thick gravel. How it normally wouldn't hurt was not missed by Loki, and how he desperately wished he had his armor.

He struggled to his feet, trying to shift the bundle to not hurt as much, looking down with a wince as he saw the right side of his thin tunic ripped, and blood oozing slowly from the grey rocks lodged in his skin.

He winced, and straightened, stumbling to his feet as he hurried to the left where trees grew at the base of the mountain.

He managed into the brush, wincing and glancing as the blood was starting to make his shirt stick to his side, and already the gravel was beginning to sting.

He scowled, looking over his shoulder and watching as the wagon continued- he had perhaps ten minutes before the horses met, he had to _move._

He stumbled through the brush, making an extravagant path to lure off any guards who attempted to track him.

Obviously, the guards missed him as he heard no shouts or horses after the ten minutes, waiting even longer which eventually became an hour as the sun shifted from directly above until it casted a bright orange sunset over the trees.

The path was ahead of him- finally found through the thick brush. It was more rugged then the caravan path, steeper and more dangerous.

He stumbled up, slowly tossing the bag up before using both hands to hoist himself up onto the ledge, wheezing as he shook his head through the exhaustion.

Again and again he continued, and sighed as he barely made a purchase in the climb. He was exhausted and stumbled to the side, knowing well enough to get off the main trail.

He was dragging by the point he collapsed in the roots of a tree, fumbling with the bag to pull out one of the slightly unripe apples, biting it and wincing as the sudden crunch hurt his jaw. Unaccustomed to hard foods, or food in general.

The horse blanket was scratchy and raw, and the tree was not comfortable to lay against. Already knots and pains were forming, and no ability of shifting would be able to relieve the pain.

Trying to sleep was almost as hard as the climb had been.

Large animals were shuffling in the brush around him, a few times already he had sent out a blast of Seidr to fend away whatever beast drew too close.

Dawn was approaching and Loki felt just as tired as he had been the day before. His teeth chattered against the cold of the mountain as he stumbled up, wincing as his shirt stuck firmly to his side, a dark stain with a slight crust to it.

Rising he glanced around twice, seeing just what he managed to hit- a lone Dire wolf. He stared at it, inching closer towards the creature with a frown. Dire wolves were smart- they were not rogue. They lived in packs, or at least pairs.

He heard the growl from behind him and instinctively sent the wall of shimmering energy as the claws raked across the shield, causing Loki to wince as his head throbbed.

The Dire Wolf snarled, eyes flashing in anger. A male, and the corpse by his feet was obviously a female.

_'It's mate.' _Loki thought, eyes flickering towards his bag, then back at the large wolf. He dropped the blanket, resisting the urge to shiver as the cold touched his skin, goose bumps spreading quickly.

The wolf lunged once more and Loki ducked, wincing as his side gave a throb of pain. His Seidr reserves were desperately low- he would prefer to not waste any more. Invisibility was much more important in his situation.

The wolf lunged and he ducked, its huge shaggy backside slamming into a tree. It was not phased as it shook bark scrapings off his fur, and drool fell from its shimmering teeth.

Loki's eyes widened and he winced, snatching a stick from the ground and holding it warily, the wolf lunging and Loki jamming forward.

A paw smashed the stick, splintering it as in desperation; Loki jammed the stick into the wolf's maw, trying to keep it aloft as his fingers touched the canvas bag.

He snatched the broken horseshoe, and as the wolf spit the wood it chomped down again.

Loki threw his arm up, the shattered horseshoe breaking through the soft pallet just as two teeth punctured Loki's arm, the wolf twitching as it collapsed, blood pooling from its mouth.

Loki gasped, panting and feeling much more tired as he yanked his arm from the wolf's mouth, carelessly dragging the teeth through and causing long streaks of skin to be pulled away.

"Curse the Norns." He hissed, seeing one of the teeth still lodged. He hesitated, fingers brushing the tooth and wiping it on his tunic to make it less slippery as he grasped the long painful tooth.

He threw his head back, and screamed.

x-(X)-x

"What was that?" Clint asked, looking around as the faint sound reached their ears.

Thor frowned, turning and scanning the surroundings once more as he tried to find the focus origin of the scream.

"Someone is screaming." Natasha noted, and the scream suddenly ended, the faint noise gone.

"…Was that him?" Bruce asked quietly, looking around as Thor turned on the back of his horse.

They had awoken early in the morning at Thor's insistence, mounted and once more started their rounds and scanning the grassy valley.

"Possibly." Thor spoke, frowning and rotating to look at the mountain before them, "I fear Loki has already reached the mountain."

"What?" Tony asked in surprise, "Dude, we're on _horses _and it took us hours!"

"He will be exhausted. His trickery will tire him so." Thor nodded, kicking his horse into action with a nudge.

"Freaking- hey! Let's look for my brother the convict! It'll be _fun."_ Tony growled, but followed after as they tried to move across the grasslands towards where the mountain loomed over them.

The trail there was not smooth and easy. It was dipping and pot holed, odd gopher creatures observing them while hawks and falcons swirled overhead. It was surprisingly cold, assumingly the sun had yet to rise and warm the land.

Dirt and dust rose behind them as they ran, clouds that easily alerted them to anyone watching. The horse burdened with their sleeping bags and food was surprisingly fast, able to keep up as Thor led the way.

"Thor! Over there!" Steve shouted, pointing over to the left where another cloud swarmed high in the air, a distant thudding of hooves on ground.

"Guards." Thor nodded, continuing and eventually the guards spotted them, greatly smaller in number. They turned, the cloud shifting as the running feet charged towards them, looking like it was something from Lord of the Rings.

They met, guards splitting and swirling around the Avengers as the chief reared, settling before Thor.

"Any sight of my brother?" Thor asked, the guard giving a bow from the back of his horse.

"Nay, my prince. We searched a many of travelers, farmers with caravans but we scoured every bag, there was no sign." He explained, and Thor gave a slight nod.

"Very well. Continue searching. Send one of your men back to Sif, alert her that we are traveling up the mountain." Thor alerted.

The man knew better then to question and instead they parted, one man on a slightly faster horse raced away towards the East, to Asgard. The rest converged once more, racing around and away on fixed rounds.

"We're going up the mountain?" Tony asked, eyebrows rising as he looked at the looming mass of rock, "Looks dangerous."

"It is." Thor grumbled, "The path along the base is much safer, although longer. He is desperate; I have no doubt that he is wounded." Thor explained.

"You think the scream was him?" Clint asked, Thor giving a sharp nod as Clint snorted, "Good, jerk deserves it."

Thor shot a look at Clint, but refrained from saying anything, instead guiding the horse at a trot instead of a full gallop, as if he knew the peaks and climbing would be much more tiring then any running.

The path was fixed with a broken dusty sign, looking foreboding as Bruce looked at it nervously. If Thor was anxious or afraid of the mountain in any way, he did not show it. He gently guided the horse forward, and it carefully made its first few steps, shifting onto safer rocks as it climbed slowly.

Bruce looked at Steve, who blew his exhale softly before guiding his horse upwards the slope, careful and gripping the saddle horn tightly as his steeds' hooves slipped on a pile of loose gravel.

"Come on, it's okay." Steve murmured under his breath, not sure of whom he was convincing as one by one, the horses slowly attempted the climb.

None mentioned anything as Steve attached the Shield to his arm, or Natasha slid her throwing knives from her pocket, and Clint pull out his new Asgardian bow.

The mountain loomed high above, and it seemed to mock them with every step.

x-(X)-x

Loki's feet were dragging.

Every step was painful as his feet grew sore- cell shoes not made for walking such ragged rock and dirt.

His arm was throbbing with such pain it was near overwhelming. He had opted to tear the horse blanket, using one of the Dire wolf's long fangs to cut it. Its dirty cloth formed as a bandage, staunching the bleeding as he used another strip around the cuts on his side, picking out the gravel chunks the best he could through the scabs and broken skin. The rest of the oversized blanket was draped over his shoulders, fastened with the leather strip he had salvaged from the broken bridle.

The apples had been devoured- what he hadn't been able to eat was attacked viciously from the mountain insects and rodents. They held no mercy and leaved only spoiled sweet juice, leaking across the sack and ruining it to the point where Loki did not dare take it with him.

No provisions, tired, sore and bloody, Loki continued on.

The rocks were working partially on his side, growing too tall and steep for horse's to continue. Only on foot was such a path available. Trudging along and kicking stones, Loki continued, sweating and blinking with sunken eyes and near translucent skin, finally sighing and smiling ever so small as he reached the peak of the low pass between the high mountains so near together, it looked to be one mountain.

"Half way." Loki muttered, giving a dry cough as his tongue felt thick and heavy in mouth as he trudged on.

The path down the mountain was much more forgiving then the trip up. Loki had visited the far side enough times. The mountains held springs, and from there cool waterfalls poured over down the lush greenery, making fertile soil the farmers worked on. Crops, crunchy with ripeness and juice made Loki's mouth water just at the thought.

His main focus was not the greenery, or the crops. Instead, his mind was filled with the laughter that rang clearer than any bells. A smile brighter then the most polished armor, and such beauty that caused even Idunn to glow green with envy.

He remembered the- _his _twins, hair brown and eyes bright with joy of youth. He remembered their snickers and their small harmless tricks, and how they ran and shouted like wild creatures, blessed by childhood.

That had been…_long_, ago. And how Loki longed to see them, perhaps even stay a short while before he completed what the void could not, or flee to where not even the Allfather would find him.

With the faintest of smiles on his lips he began his descent, leaning back to diminish the possibility of falling. The trees grew even slightly brighter, leaves lush and oily as Loki ran his fingers over the glossy finish.

It was a fine distraction from the pulsating pain his arm formed, and the prickling sensation of the ratty cloth around his side, most certainly locking infection inside the wound. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and still he carried on with dreams of Sigyn and Vali and Narvi in his mind.

He was so caught up, he barely noticed the sounds of animals, shuffling closer and observing him.

He heard it and spun, hands instinctively moving to where his dagger would have rested if it was still there. His fingers brushed the rough cloth, and he took a stumbling step back, right arm throbbing as he saw what slowly crept from the brush.

A drake. Young, and still inexperienced with the Aesir. Its scales were glossy, a bright olive that blended with the leaves well enough that Loki cursed his inability to notice such a lethal creature. Its long neck pulled back, slit eyes blinking horizontally as it observed Loki with a distinctly avian like beak, clawing closer with great wings.

Loki look to the left and right, any form of weaponry that could dare save him from such a huge, reptilian beast, more lethal than any Dire wolf.

He swallowed, left hand curling around his right protectively as he back away, the drake's bony hindquarters tall, towering over Loki's head as it clawed towards him like a large scaled bat, head twitching back and forth, tasting the air.

Loki swallowed, knowing that the beast was drawn to the scent of blood on his skin. Hiding would be useless, a pathetic attempt to avoid such monstrosity.

A knife, he may have escaped with a grave injury. A sword, perhaps a bleeding gash. Thor by his side- unscathed. With Seidr? He would escape with its head for a trophy.

It snaked its head down curiously, and Loki slowly hefted a log, a small whine escaping as the blunt end of the log scraped against the gashes in his arm. As the drake's head drew near enough, he smashed the log down upon the head of the creature.

It squawked, recoiling and flapping in surprise at the fight its prey had. It blinked away the splinters, before baring its teeth angrily, scaled under its neck and throat glowing as Loki gasped.

He shifted to invisibility the moment the Drake let loose a plume of fire as well as a mighty roar, causing birds to take air in fright. Loki smashed to the ground, blinking away tears in his eyes as his right arm was pinned under his weight, and his side was forced upon a flat rock chunk.

The drake spun its head, sniffing as its eyes failed it. The smell of charcoal sterilized Loki's scent, and although he was aware physically attacking the creature would be his demise, he _did _have a plan.

He focused, illusion spreading, and incasing the trees before the drake's eyes, they shifted to a large ferocious beast, with a maw greater than the drake's body.

It squawked, flapping like a startled hen as it took flight, hurrying away with its long thin tail snapping loudly in the air like the crack of lightning. Over the mountain it traveled, until over the slope it faded from sight beyond the ridge.

Loki slowly attempted to rise, hyperventilating with such pain in his sides, stumbling and attempting to rise. Sticks dug into his knees and legs as they trembled, arms too weak to actually provide any support. He winced, dragging and managing to collapse behind giant ferns, breathing rattling, and not even noticing as the bandages along his torso began to bleed slightly, his right arm shaking, and fingers half curled defensively.

He exhaled once more, eyes slowly sliding shut on a soft mattress of moss, and the curtains of trees and ferns. His vision swirled, and with little more then another blink his head lolled to the side, unaware to any prying eyes.

x-(X)-x

"What the hell?" Clint asked, squinting and peering forward as the rest of the group dismounted, taking the saddles off of the horses and setting them along the side of the path.

"Legolas. What do your elf eyes see?" Tony shot out, Clint sticking his middle finger at Tony without even turning.

"What ails you, my friend?" Thor asked, looking out but not seeing what was causing alarm.

"…Fire- like a flamethrower in the sky." Clint explained, and at the end of his words a loud piercing scream met the ear, like a strangled vulture.

Thor's eyes widened and Mjolnir collapsed into his hand, looking out with a scowl, "A drake. Angered. I assume it was the fire you saw, sight is much faster than those of ears." Thor noted.

Clint pulled out his bow, pulling the thin string on the Asgardian bow back, aiming and staring for a few seconds, as if calculating something.

He let the arrow fly, the golden spear of light that whistled through the air with incredible speed, far into the distance.

As soon as the arrow vanished from sight, another second and another loud screech of anger.

"You hit it?" Tony asked, frowning and looking out, holding the suitcase iron man suit hesitantly, "Is it down?"

"It takes more than an arrow to halt a drake." Thor noted, frowning before holding his hammer aloft, clouds darkening suddenly.

A few moments later, a bright flash of lightning flashed, a low roar as it struck something, now a small spec.

It still grew bigger.

"It took on a full thunder blast?" Tony asked in shock, and Bruce looked anxious.

"Do not fear my friends. Many drakes do not feel pain against my strike." Thor smiled, as if trying to comfort them, "But arrows will puncture its hide."

As if they had practiced that, Clint let loose several arrows, each of the energy blasts, and scowling as the beast continued to fly, eventually, Clint even twisted and his arrow was engulfed with fire.

"Freaking flying gecko." Clint cursed, swapping arrows and pulling out his compound, notching a metallic arrow filled with a poison Tony had made back on Earth, "Take this _Smaug."_

The monster now was close enough to see the long wings and the two hanging legs, sharp with talons, and a large beak opening and a glowing belly.

"Gotcha." Clint muttered, letting loose the arrow as it flew towards the mouth of the monster. Fire exploded outwards, singing the metal and burning the shaft, leaving only the arrowhead flying.

It continued to fly a few more wing beats before it stumbled, pin wheeling and spiraling out of control into a tree, cracking it and knocking both the tree, and the giant twitching lizard to the floor.

"…Well, that was anticlimactic." Tony frowned, "Here I thought it was going to be King Kong vs. Godzilla."

"Tony." Bruce sighed, almost tired, "The other guy isn't a giant ape."

"It matters naught my friends." Thor frowned, looking at the large twitching creature, blocking the path with the tree and its olive body, "Something has angered this creature, but not against it."

"Something scared it?" Natasha frowned, looking at the beast, "Are there things greater than that?"

"In these mountains, no." Thor frowned, but slowly began walking down the path towards the creature, "But the mind can create horrors that will startle even the most battle weary man."

A few seconds before the implications set in, "Loki did this? He set a drake on us?" Bruce asked, slightly scared.

"I assume he is aware that a squadron is scouring the mountain. I am near certain that it is he, attempting to ward off pursuers." Thor explained, and sighed.

"So we're close." Natasha summed up, glancing into the horizon, "It was still angry. He's just beyond that ridge."

"Aye." Thor nodded, frowning before looking at his friends, "Is it too far of a trek for you all?"

Tony sighed, but shook his head, "Let's just get on with it." He looked mournfully at his suit case, but trekked alongside Bruce, who smiled gratefully.

They walked for hours, rising to the top of the ridge, and eventually looked down upon the valley where houses sat distantly.

"Well, this is cute. Homey. Like a Christmas movie." Tony drawled, wincing as Clint jammed an elbow into his ribs.

"Let's keep going, maybe we'll find where the drake was before, and find clues as to where he went." Steve advised, and they began the downhill trek. Natasha lost her footing only once, but Clint caught her with one arm, lifting her to her feet once more.

Once they got down the rock layer and into the trees, it was much nicer. The trees in general seemed older, healthier. The dirt wasn't dust, and even the air smelt fresh.

"There." Clint pointed up ahead, and the others peered forward, quickly seeing what it was.

Trees and grass was seared black, still smoking lightly and smoldering under wet logs.

"It's still warm." Bruce noted, touching piece of ash between his fingers and smearing it gently, looking up as Tony touched a chunk of tree, eyebrows rising in surprise as it crumbled all of the way through.

His eyebrows rose as he turned to look back at Thor, "Just how hot does that thing get? I mean, this is burned all the way through." Tony pointed out, poking the crumbling ash of a trunk once more, "That's not possible."

"They hold breath gifted from Nidhoggr himself. A second within fire and even Mjolnir would glow hot." Thor confessed, looking around and seeing the large gashes of claws, still oozing sap where they were not burned.

"Thor." Natasha spoke, squatting near the ground and gently prying a log away, splintered and crushed on the one side, "This was used to hit it."

Tony walked over, reaching down and touching the side where the bark was indented, looking up at Thor who wandered closer, "It's smashed. If your brother did it, why wouldn't he just use his magic mojo?"

Thor sighed heavily, looking rather disturbed by the log, "It am…confused, my friends."

"Thor!" Clint shouted, perhaps twenty feet away, removing sticks and leafs from a rock, "Found something over here!"

Natasha straightened, Tony following as they investigated, swallowing quickly at the sight.

"Is that blood, or some berries. Please tell me it's a bunch of barriers." Tony muttered as Clint scoffed, picking up a small twig and running it through the congealed dark red goop.

"Sorry Stark. It's blood." Clint snorted, dropping the stick and scooting back as Bruce hesitantly approached it.

"There's not enough for it to be lethal, and not enough for a head wound-"

"The drake didn't get him?" Natasha frowned, and Thor looked at Bruce expectantly.

"I-I don't _think _so. I think- I think he's already been hurt, and it just started bleeding again. The drake attacking was probably enough to make whatever it was start bleeding again."

Thor frowned but nodded, looking around as he straightened, "Then he must not have traveled far." He summed up.

"I don't know Thor. On adrenaline, people can go for hours." Natasha pointed out, eyes sharp, "And it's been an hour since the drake attacked."

"Then we'll keep going, get to the town before him and raise alarm." Steve spoke, firmly standing and looking actually compelling.

"Of course." Thor nodded, shifting and retrieving their traveling packs before adorning them, eyes on the path in front of them ,"I believe there are rock pools only a few miles away. If my brother is injured, he will seek these pools."

"Are they like, hot springs?" Tony asked, wriggling his eyebrows, "Can we take a dip? Mountain climbing is making us _pretty _tired."

"Stark, you'd get tired after driving a car." Clint deadpanned, causing Tony to scoff, mock offended.

"Jerk." He muttered, shouldering his pack and hefting the iron man suitcase once more in his grip.

"So what makes these springs so great?" Bruce asked, tilting his head curiously as he walked alongside Thor, seemingly fine with the heavy pack he carried.

"Nay. They are naught springs, but many pools." Thor explained with a small smile, "They are clear, and within the waters are Maeji stones. They litter the bottom of the pool, too small to be of use to us." Thor explained.

"Stones are useful to you?" Clint frowned, looking over at Thor as if he had heard wrong.

"Only Maeji stones. Combined with Seidr, they craft the Healing Stones used to restore even the most grievous wounds." Thor smiled, causing Bruce's eyes to widen in surprise.

"The waters are medicated?" Bruce asked with a small gasp, looking at Thor in wonder, "How? Does the powder influence the white blood cells, or does it hold regenerative properties, or-"

"Dude." Clint deadpanned, looking at Bruce bored, "Its magic water. Just go with it."

They walked, passing a blood splattered fern without anyone noticing. Such small droplet led a trail, and hidden behind trees and on soft green moss, a figure lay limp.

x-(X)-x

Loki groaned, a small whimper the sound of a whisper as he forced his eyes open.

He had curled into a small ball, his right side exposed into the air as pain seemed to pulse hotly through his one side.

The dark was surprising, and yet welcome. The ever constant glamour on his eyes fell as he spotted the stars high above.

They glittered as if saying hello, greeting him once as if an old friend.

A small smile curled at the corner of his mouth as unconsciously he reached upwards, as if to touch them. His right side throbbed and another hiss broke from his mouth as his arm clamped down along his midsection, his right arm curled tightly to his body.

He paused, one arm bracing himself as he slowly moved upwards, wincing with a groan as he pulled at the horse blanket wrapped around his neck. It peeled away with a slightly sticky noise, another pang of pain flaring caused his breath to hitch. Glancing down, he was not happy.

The dark red scabs had broken, and another layer of the liquid coating the blanket with a crusty film. His arm was just as unlucky, although seeming in even worse shape as the entire skin was not its translucent layer but instead a heated and inflamed red.

_'infected' _his mind reminded him _'The Dire wolf bite.'_

He forced himself to stand upright, grasping a tree tightly as he was suddenly breathless, slowly trying to grab an old yet decently thick branch to lean on.

A low groan escaped his mouth as he stumbled forward a step, forehead scrunching as his brows furrowed in pain. He took another step, a partial limp due to his right side abdomen being so tightly pulled.

Again and again he walked, eventually falling to an old habit of repeating spells under his breath. Long ago had he memorized the spells until he could say them even in battle, but it was an old comfort.

He stumbled, nearly tripping on a large root as his foot lagged behind. With a flinch he right sided himself, repeating the spell and scripture, eventually faltering as no more spells came to mind.

Then he began to sing once more- not nearly as gifted as the maidens or the nature voices of Alfheim. He smiled, singing off key and shoddy although the memory of it helped him continue.

_"That is your best attempt at song? Why, I dare think to see your skills in Seidr."_

_"You wound me Sigyn! I'll have you know my Seidr is the strongest there is!"_

_"Maybe between you and Asgard! We Vanir are much too wise to study such useless skills!"_

_"My skills are very useful! I can shape fire, or bend steel. What of you? Talking with weeds again?"_

_"You'd be surprised, Silvertongue. Trees often say the nicest words, and sing the sweetest songs."_

_"Do they now?"_

_"Would you care to listen to me? I may not be a tree, but I can try my best, Liesmith."_

_"It would be a gift worthy of any king, Sigyn."_

The walking was painful, the actual sight of the pools was excruciating.

It was dark, the night not even close to being over, yet the water was illuminated with light.

A fire, burning bright on the far shore reflected on the calm water. It flickered, and faintly revealed the shape of humans, gathered around the fire or lounged out on the soft grass.

Loki's swallowed thickly, watching almost in disbelief as the figures on the far side shifted slightly, as if talking.

_'No.'_ Loki's inner monologue whispered, almost in shock. He had come so far- he _needed _the pools.

Another pulse of pain along his side was another constant reminder about how desperately he needed the waters.

_'My Seidr would not hide the reaction.'_ Loki summarized as he mentally checked his reservoirs, dangerously low.

At most, he could pass illusions, but no advanced battle magic. His levels were pathetically low right now, he would be lucky to even summon a fireball with his energy level.

_'Illusions'_ His eyes widened as he looked across the water once more, narrowing his eyes and blowing out his exhale quietly.

He reached outwards with one hand, and focused hard, feeling his Seidr draining steadily, yet not as much as any physical attach would.

In the distance, a small shimmering of air and light before it morphed into something else- large and winged with a shimmering black look to it.

_'Distract them.'_ Loki thought and the illusion roared.

Loki smiled weakly, leaning heavily on the stick as the illusion drake roared swooping and flaring its wings in a spectacular display.

Loki smiled thinly- the illusion itself was remarkable, something that Seidr users would take years to master. He could hear the shouts as the people jumped to their feet, drawing weapons that the illusion beautifully and artfully dodged with a few elegant flaps.

Loki knew that the illusion would only last so long, so with no hesitance he gimped forward, seeking the waters as fast as he could.

He heard his illusion roar in anger, and a bright fizzling flash of light. He jerked his head upwards, just as he collapsed nearest the soft lapping water. A Seidr bow, streaking high in a flash of light that was stunning to look at.

Loki was well familiar with such weaponry, and knew the illusion would falter at the mere touch of the weapon.

_'Avoid the bow at all costs.'_ Loki instructed, and without care submerging his arm into the water.

He nearly cried in pain at the sudden prickling of pain. His skin bubbled, pink churning foam bubbling and frothing at his skin, becoming agonizing as his jaw tensed.

Before he could think about what exactly he was going to be doing, he slumped backwards, water reaching up to his chest, and from the infected gouges frothing pink and slightly yellow.

His chin jerked upwards as a small whimper escaped- the frothing bubbling mess was nearly more painful than the wounds themselves.

The drake roared, and a blast of light- something Loki recognized from Midgard.

He rolled, a breathless sob making its way out as he pulled himself out of the water limply with his left arm the sand morphing to dirt and curling under his hand as he clawed himself towards the tree line.

The drake roared once more and rose high into the air, snarling angrily at the attacks, and Loki smiled breathlessly as his wounds continued to bubble as he made it out to the tree line, horse blanket caking with mud from dragging along the ground.

The drake roared, and with a slight fizzling sound Loki glanced upwards, feeling a small _'snap!'_.The illusion faltered and seemed to explode in a distinctly green light, before vanishing with a loud roar.

Loki smiled ever so slightly, looking at his arm- he had not been in the waters long enough to restore his wounds to full form, but enough to close the wound and staunch the bleeding. His side was shallow gouges, nearly healed with thick scabs.

He continued walking- he could have started laughing as he heard the muffled shouting of anger and rage.

A sudden blast of bright powerful thunder. Light slammed down from the heavens onto the ground behind Loki.

_'Thor? That was Thor?'_ Loki thought, pausing momentarily.

Then, he started laughing even louder.

x-(X)-x

"The hell was _that?"_ Tony groaned, landing and shaking his hair, standing upright from the electricity in the air.

Thor scowled, glancing around in righteous anger, "_That _was trickery!" He roared angrily. Hands white knuckled around Mjolnir, "Show yourself Loki!" He roared once more, scanning the dark waters.

"He's here?" Clint asked, eyes widening as he pulled back another brightly burning arrow and shooting it high in the air, only for it to explode into fire, illuminating all the way across the far shores.

Nothing was there, and the water lapped quietly.

"Has he moved on already?" Bruce frowned, peering out as Tony lowered his visor, using Jarvis to help scan for life forms.

"If he has reached the water, then his wounds will be healed." Thor growled, anger still in his eyes, "He could well be on his way this moment."

"How far away is that town?" Natasha frowned, peering along the trail towards the town they were heading.

"Not long. Perhaps two of your hours on foot." Thor grunted, and Clint's lips curled into a scowl.

"Then let's get moving. We can alert the guards there and be ready for whenever he shows." Steve summed up, moving before hefting his pack onto his back once more.

Tony was the only one who seemed slightly annoyed with having to march once more, and yet he seemed to be the only one in which the lack of sleep didn't affect him. They walked, Thor holding aloft a burning branch to illuminate their path as he looked rather awkward with the burning stick.

"When we ventured on quests and hunts," He admitted, "Loki would illuminate the way with his Seidr."

"Yeah, how _does _that mumbo jumbo crap work anyways? Cause that giant black drake thing? Did it just…did its atoms disintegrate, or what?" Tony frowned, Bruce nodding in agreement.

"He…It was an illusion." Thor struggled to explain, shrugging his shoulders slightly, "It was only of eye, and not of flesh."

Tony blinked, before saying slowly, "You mean…that it couldn't have hurt us?"

"Nay." Thor scoffed, looking at Tony as if _he _was the idiot, "Illusions if powerful enough hold much potential for killing strikes, as much as any blade."

"And that's considered a woman's gift?" Natasha asked dryly, arching one eyebrow, "Making monsters able to roast an army alive?"

"Yeah, that thing wasn't breathing any fire either." Tony pointed out, giving a small shrug, "Kinda odd in my opinion."

Thor frowned, looking somewhat torn, "I…I do not…"

"It's fine Thor." Steve smiled, and instead pointed ahead where nestled in the darkness of the forest, was a faintly glowing spec, "Is that where we're going?"

Thor seemed filled with relief at the shift in topic. "Aye." He smiled, the torch casting orange light which reflected oddly on his teeth, "That is the Vanir farming village."

"Vanir?" Clint frowned, "Like, what goes on cabinets?"

"That's Varnish." Natasha corrected, looking at Thor as he gave a hefty laugh.

"Nay my friends!" He chuckled, shaking his head, "They populate the fields and distant lands of Asgard. They are quiet people, not built strong for battle or war. They are gifted with Seidr, and similar to those of Alfheim." Thor explained with a small smile.

"Ohhh, I see. So the quiet ones." Tony gave a wink, while Thor shot him a startled look, as if embarrassed.

"Nay my friend." He chuckled, shaking his head as if remembering something distant, "The Vanir are not built as Asgardians, but do not shy from fights. They would hold little hesitation for such advances." He grinned.

"Yeah Stark, don't get frisky." Clint snorted, causing Tony to scoff and stick out his tongue.

They approached the town, walking was not difficult, but a slow movement of feet dragging through dirt. Yawns were frequent, and eventually the torch was passed to another, who illuminated the way.

They stumbled down to the bottom of the slope, and eventually fence posts greeted them on either side, old and cute as they were constructed for looks more so then actual function. It was obvious the mountain trail was not commonly used, and they walked towards the actual functioning part of the town.

A few people glanced out of windows curiously, Tony grinned to a few. They smiled back, confused, but did not linger to ask questions.

"Stay here, buy us rooms in the tavern for the night. I will speak with the guardsmen." Thor grumbled, drawing a small coin purse from alongside his hip, tossing it to Clint who caught it with his left hand.

"How many rooms?" Clint asked, but Thor had already left, firmly walking towards a stone building, looking much more…sturdy, then any of the other nearby buildings.

Thor hefted the thick door open, the men nearest glancing upwards with what seemed to be quick dismissal, before his eyes widened and he stumbled to his knees in a bow.

"Prince Thor of Asgard." He breathed in surprise, eyes wide as he rose to his feet, hand dropping from his hilt where his sword resided, "Of what reasons do you venture to Vanir lands?"

Thor did not smile, even at the awkwardness of how the guard spoke his question, instead Thor took a step forward, forcing the guard to take a step back.

"Your troops. Have them patrol the village. Escorts to the nobles, or the shopkeepers. I wish to know of any of significance within this town, any who hold importance."

The guard seemed baffled, as if Thor had just spoken in a language not known to him.

"The- you wish to see our village _records?"_ He asked, utterly perplexed with the request.

"Aye." Thor grunted, looking almost annoyed by the confusion of the man, "My father has issued alarms, a messenger should have arrived by now."

The guard's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean-we had assumed that our village was of no importance! Of what use would our village hold as a target?" He seemed in shock.

"I know naught, but he is on course. He has perhaps already breached your borders."

The guard's jaw dropped as he failed to utter any words besides lunging over and grabbing the rope to a large bell, ringing it with a loud echoing clang.

It echoed, and breathlessly the man lunged towards a large wooden cabinet, hefting it open and pulling a thick stack of records, filed in small clean writing made better then a scribe.

"Th-These are the records, the Vanir who live on this side of the mountain are listed here. They- they have not been updated for a season I fear-"

"It will suit me well. I thank you, kind soldier. I trust safety will be of great importance?" Thor asked, arching one brow as the man quickly twitched out a hasty nod.

Thor turned on his heels, grasping the thick stack of papers with the utmost care before hefting it upwards and safely into his grasp, exiting and hurrying along the streets towards the tavern.

The door opened quickly, and the musty smell and dim lighting was not new to Thor. He was aware that in the new rooms there would be much brighter candles, burning and casting long shadows on the walls.

"Thor." Steve stood outside three rooms, holding one of the doors open, and slipping inside.

Thor deposited the stack of papers and parchment on the small table illuminated by the glowing candle. Already Tony glanced up from the bed, Bruce looking over curiously from where he had been investigating one of the books the tavern supplied.

"What's that?" Tony asked, and Thor pulled the first parchment paper open, squinting at the scrawl.

"Records, of this village. The occupants, and the possible key as to why Loki would find a target among those living here." Thor explained, Tony reaching over and frowning as he saw the script.

"Dude, this is all old records, like this is from a few years ago." Tony pointed out on the sheet, plucking the one from Thor's hands.

"_This _is the one you want- see the names? And apparently, there are some funky ones here." Tony pointed out.

"Funny names?" Clint asked, walking over from the open doorway, peering over and snorting, "Wow. No joke there. Seire, Farun, Sigyn, Grupi, Mwalf." Clint grinned, seemingly amused, "These names are _great."_

"Do we have to check all of these?" Bruce frowned, looking at the rather expansive list. The names were old, and written easily, as if pen or ink or _whatever _had written it many times.

"Any of which seem new of importance." Thor muttered, shuffling through the papers tiredly.

"Hey, big man, don't worry about this." Tony smirked, wide awake, a startling comparison to the majority of the group, "you look like you're going to drop dead."

"I hope not. That would be an ill fortune." Thor muttered, looking at Tony with a questioning look.

"It's okay Thor." Bruce smiled softly, settling down next to Tony, "We have a handle on this. What's one night of less sleep?"

Tony picked up the paper, glancing at it before looking back at Thor, "Go on! Shoo! Don't make me fetch the broom and kick you out."

Thor smiled, giving a loud thump to his chest armor, "I thank thee, my friends."

Tony snorted, looking back at the files, "Please. Just get your Norwegian pigtail out of my face."

x-(X)-x

Loki could hear the horn just as the buildings loomed overhead.

His eyes widened, his lips turning into a silent scowl as he hurried to get into the city, raising an illusion and slipping between the stone buildings.

He made it only a few steps before giving a low groan, left hand curling around his stomach as his Seidr reserves flared with pain. The illusion faltered, flickering twice before dropping completely. His left arm shot up, bracing himself against the stone wall while flinching.

_'First the flesh wounds, and now my Seidr." _ Loki thought bitterly, wincing as he straightened, stopping the burning sparks of Seidr before straightening, carefully walking in the shadows of the buildings.

The bell rang loud, and Loki paused in the overhang of one shop as a group of three guards rushed past, shouting and startling locals who still busied themselves on the streets.

_'I have to find her.'_ Loki thought to himself, looking around for any way to find his bearings.

To be honest, Loki was exhausted.

He glanced both ways up and down the street, attempting to find what he could to stay the night, or stay out of sight before he could venture west.

His stomach growled loudly in protest, gnawing painfully as he hurriedly made his way down the streets towards the western side of the city. He could spot the buildings slowly morphing into stables, or warehouses, large and barred up and guarded with thick metal. Loki knew that there was no way for him to sneak inside such a heavily guarded building without his Seidr, so instead he turned to the next thing, the stables.

He opened the door, taking care to stay out of the way of a torch, sliding the door behind him shut, and blinking away the slight fog as he looked around.

The stable was small, perhaps only one or two horses could fit in it. The straw was stale, old and yet the building had not been entirely emptied.

He knocked over one of the buckets, searching through a measly bag of old rock hard oats, and pulled out one of the nearly moldy carrots, glancing at it and considering just how hungry he was.

He scoffed, hurling the carrot into the distance, watching it thump mutedly on the wall, collapsing back on the somewhat lumpy straw, but nearly groaning at the relief it brought him.

The straw was stiff and painful against his back, poking and prodding where it was cut at the bottom of the hay. Yet again, it was softer then moss, and much more warm then simple air and trees.

He woke early due to paranoia. The sun had rose, and birds were chirping loudly. He twitched, momentarily burrowing into the warmth of the straw before sighing and straightening, lounging in the straw. He frowned down at the old, blood caked horse blanket, pulling it aside to unravel the bandages around his arm, investigating the shallow pink gouges and warm slightly enflamed skin.

He prodded it, the skin not nearly as painful as what it had been days prior, same as his torso. There many scabs were scattered along his chest, stretching upwards near his ribs.

He sighed, pulling his dirty, bloody frayed and torn tunic back down, drawing the blanket around him once more.

His shoes were wrecked. What was assumed to be slippers for prison held no resistance to the water, mud, sticks and gravel. They had become ruined, holes on the sides and the stitching trailing behind him.

_'Something else' _He thought to himself, rising slowly and stretching, searching for anything he could use to patch the shoes, or make something better.

The barn may be filled with scratches, but there was no use for a rusty _shovel._

He sighed, looking forlorn at his feet, the blisters practically oozing already.

_'I only need to find her'_ He thought, exhaling and slowly edging towards the door, peering out from between the door and wall before opening the door and hurrying out.

Thankfully, already being near the outskirts of the town, he only had to make his way along the western path, and eventually out to the countryside. If his memory was right- Sigyn's land was just on the lower ravine, looking down on the land from the trail.

He could make it, perhaps only a few hours walk. Making it to Sigyn, sticking around and making a plan, trying to figure out where to go next, that was as far as he had planned.

He kept walking, not noticing the young boy who gasped, watching with wide eyes as even he recognized the fallen Prince, and turned, running quickly towards the guard's tower.

x-(X)-x

"Here you go." Tony drawled, reclining on the chair as he passed a piece of parchment with various notes on it.

Thor glanced it over, looking surprised at the very few names listed on it.

"…Why so little?" Thor frowned, perhaps only twenty names from what used to be over three hundred.

"Well, we glanced at the list and saw a few things that we could work with." Tony pointed at the names, "There's all of the people who were in the area, or moved here recently, could have had a past history with Loki, or jerk enough to actually go after the idiot." Tony pointed out, giving Thor a knowing look, "Complex algorithm."

"An…algorithm?" Thor frowned at the complex wording.

"It's like…dude, I don't know how to explain it in your terms. We don't have PowerPoint here, I can't show you." Tony shrugged, and Thor grudgingly took the paper, most of the names unrecognizable.

"This one." Thor pointed to the name, "Sigyn. I recognize it."

"Oh?" Bruce asked, peering at the list with a frown, "Oh, apparently she moved here quite a while ago. And…I think she got married recently too." Bruce pointed out.

"Hey, but here this," Tony noted, looking at another piece of paper among the mess, "She has two kids, twins actually. They're fairly old now actually, and the guy she's married is new too. Just the last year." Tony pointed out.

Thor frowned, as if trying to remember the name.

"Find anything?" Clint asked, peering into the room with a frown as Tony held the paper up.

"Nice." Clint muttered, looking at the names and even tilting his head at some of the odder ones. "…Are we, splitting up or something? There's a lot of names here."

"We could put the guards on it." Bruce offered, and Clint opened his mouth.

Muffled shouting and the group glanced over to the wall. A few seconds later and Natasha strolled in, looking somewhat bored as she pointed over her shoulder, "Some kid is shouting for the guards. Apparently saw him going west."

"Really?" Bruce asked, looking almost…disappointed.

"I know." Tony whined, looking sad, "I thought we were going to get all CSI on this!"

"How long ago?" Thor asked, looking at Natasha who smiled slightly.

"Sunrise." She nodded, a small smile on her face, "The guards already have horses ready."

"So what, this is it?" Clint frowned, looking at Steve with a frown, "The final showdown? We're going to get this moron?"

"It appears so." Thor grumbled, rising and moving towards the door, pausing a moment before glancing at Natasha.

"I'm ready. Boys, get your toys and we'll head out. Leave the bags." Natasha nodded, turning and walking out, the Asgardian armor swishing against her legs.

Clint did not wait one moment, jumping across the bed to grab his bows, slinging them over his shoulder and slipping a long knife into his leg holster.

Tony glanced at Bruce, who shrugged, rising while Tony grabbed the case walking calmly out the door.

The horses were not as nice as the Asgardian ones. They were mixed breeds, slightly bulky of varying color. Thor was already on the back of a large brown one, Natasha on a slightly red one.

"Come on boys." Natasha smiled slightly, allowing the horse into a trot as Thor bolted ahead, the two running off.

"Tasha!" Clint shouted, cursing and jumping onto the nearest horse and kicking it into a run.

"Freaking- come on Spangles!" Tony shouted, clambering on the horse and hurrying into a run after the group.

The path wasn't that hard of a ride, well packed down as they quickly caught up.

"He can't be far ahead!" Thor shouted, the galloping forcing him to shout for everyone to hear, "If you find him, he is still dangerous!"

"Got that." Clint shouted back, drawing his original bow and notching an arrow, preferring the familiarity vs. function at the moment.

Loki was nearing the ravine, his pace slower as the long grass swayed before him.

He neared it, hesitating as he saw the beginnings of the thatch roofing, the sun rising high in the sky before him, casting the fields with a golden glow.

_'No. I'll not back away now.'_ He thought to himself, peering over once more.

Almost as if strangers, two young men were guiding horses out. Each fitted with a thatch of dark brown, nearly black hair, and the other with a honey. They were roughly the same size, mouths moving in laughter that did not carry the distance.

_'Vali? Navi?'_ Loki thought, eyes widening as he saw what used to be children, clinging to his hips and marveling at his illusions. _'You have grown. Have I been away for so long?'_

Hoofs pounded. Growing closer, an ever constant roar in the distant, like waves of thunder drawing ever nearer. Loki found himself watching the home below him, almost as if in a dream. He seemed not to care for the gaining horses, nor did he seem to care at the prospect of his death.

Golden hair emerged from the building as the door opened.

Loki found himself winded, as if struck to the chest by the strongest of punches. Hair, more beautiful then spun gold and adorning a normal dress, which seemed to make her a Valkyrie to any eye.

_'Sigyn'_ His mind whispered, jaw moving as if to silently call out to her, lips turning upwards into a breathless smile.

But then, another head emerged.

Loki found himself in confusion, who was this man? He was old, perhaps as old as Loki, if not older. A square jaw, Vanir from the looks of it.

_'Sigyn has no brother. Of what purpose is he here?'_ Loki watched curiously, the urge to call for her dying as he soundlessly laughed, one arm wrapping around her waist.

Hooves on ground drawing to a point where if he stared hard enough, he could see them in the distance.

Blood burned as the man said something, Sigyn playfully swatting at his arm and before Loki could scream, or shout, or even attempt to let loose the power of his Seidr fire, he bent his neck and his mouth met hers.

Numb Loki was entirely numb, and from the no caring gestures of Vali and Narvi, it seemed to him that it was entirely of the norm. This- this _mongrel. _This filthy _boar _attacking _his wife _in her moment of weakness? His- his dirty paws _dare_ even touching her fair skin?

He could hear the shouts, and did not move. He did not turn even as he was aware that his chance of escape was now little to none at all.

_Sigyn…_his beautiful flower was…_gone._

He heard the bow in the distance- or perhaps he imagined it as a sharp sound to bring his turmoil sudden clarity. She was obviously blind; she must have thought him dead.

_'Yes…yes that must be it.'_ He thought to himself, finding the words repeating as hysteria set in quickly _'She was mine. She loved me. We were happy, why- why would she- she must have thought me dead.'_

His hands were trembling, moving as if controlled by the wind. A gasping raw noise escaping his tense jaw as his throat felt as if smothered by a dry rag.

The horses were close enough that he could see their shiny sweaty coats, and he could see the arrow notched and aimed towards his chest.

_'Sigyn is happy now…' _He reasoned, eyes on her once more as she teasingly escaped the unfamiliar man's grasp _'She would not want a monster such as I.'_

As if some secret word had been spoken, Sigyn paused. She turned, eyes not hesitating as they climbed the ravine, landing on him. Over the distance, he could watch as her eyes cleared in familiarity, mouth dropping and mouthing one word he could hear echo through his mind and dreams, into his heart.

_'Loki?'_

The horses drew closer, Natasha rising from the saddle, unhooking one of the long throwing daggers and carefully holding it. Tony frowned, peering forward as Thor said nothing. Steve's grip on the reigns tightened as he too saw the hunched dark figure of what only could be assumed as Loki.

"Clint?" Steve asked quietly, and with what seemed to be from practice, Clint straightened. He lifted his body from the saddle, supporting himself only with his legs as he unhooked his bow- his first and metallic one, in his hands. Clint's eyes narrowed, no hesitation. his jaws set as he let the bowstring slide from the worn calluses on his fingertips. The synthetic feathers whistled through the air and brushing his cheek

Loki heard the arrow fly, and he did not dare move from its path. He felt it puncture his right side, right where he had suffered so long to try and continue onward to his location.

Natasha knew it was her turn, and with a well aimed throw of the beautifully crafted knifes. They did not whistle like Clint's arrow, but instead seemed to glitter as it flew with lethal speed. Clint wasn't watching the knife, and instead drew another arrow and notched it.

Loki felt a lower pain, a throb joining the slowly burning fire of his chest. He was distracted, finding the entire ordeal almost dreamlike. What was occurring wasn't- it simply _couldn't._

Logic quickly dictated that the pain in his leg, forcing him to slowly slide to the ground (Through both emotional, and physical pain) was due to a glimmering blade, quickly staining scarlet. A knife with a familiar arch and brand, lodged deep in his knee. His knives? The weapons crafted by his own hand? Who could find such steel? His own weapon used against him?

Yet again, was that not what was occurring now? Sigyn, a weapon used against not flesh and blood, but his utter being?

Loki did not say anything. His eyes were locked on the beautiful women whose face was quickly falling from confusion, to recognition, to horror as once more, Loki heard the slight whistling.

Loki was well aware of the location the arrow was flying, and he was aware that moving slightly, or even controlling his decent to the ground would change the target of the arrow.

His mind raced through the possibilities. Forward, or falling back. Twisting to the side or even blocking with his arm. _'Of what reason do I even have anymore?' _Loki thought to himself, eyes drifted to his boys _('Men now, how long I have been gone. Do they even remember me?) _and finally to Sigyn _('My wife, so old and already moved on. She deserves more than that of a monster.')_

He said nothing even as the final arrow flew, 'accidentally' piercing too far to the right of his sternum. Deep it buried into the painful and stuttering organ that pumped such sorrow through his veins. He remained utterly silent.

If the Liesmith was ever to utter truths, it would be that even as his mind clouded he was glad that he was to see Sigyn again. Even if her eyes filled him with more pain, then any blow or torture would.

* * *

**As i said before, this is a contest. Please leave a review or a favorite, it'll help me.**

**Sorry about the sudden abruptness of the ending, i was running out of words i was allowed to use.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING**

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